Not Enough Votes in House to Overturn Edwards' Transgender Veto

A day after the Louisiana Senate narrowly voted to overturn Governor John Bel Edwards veto of legislation not allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls' school sports, the Louisiana House fell two votes shy of getting enough votes to complete the override of Edwards' veto.

70 votes were needed to complete the veto override. As pointed out by Louisiana Radio Network, there are 68 Republicans in the House and 2 Independents. The 36 other legislators are Democrats.

BELOW is the vote count. As you can see, one Republican - Joe Stagni of Kenner - voted in the minority with the Democrats. One Democrat - Francis Thompson of Delhi - voted with Republicans.

Transgender Bill Vote Count in Louisiana House

Republican Metairie Representative Laurie Schlegel expressed why she believes this bill was necessary, despite Governor Edwards and other Democrats calling it "discriminatory" and a bill "in search of a problem that does not exist."

“We vote on bills every single session that are forward-thinking and if you look all over the country and the world, this is a growing problem,” said Schlegel in this Louisiana Radio Network article. “Respecting biological differences is not discrimination, it is not hate, it is what is evident and not true."

Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder of Gonzales issued this statement:

The vote to override Governor Edwards’ veto of the Fairness in Women's Sports Act fell two votes short today. While I am frustrated by the result, I am encouraged by the fact that we did something that has never been done in this state in asserting our legislative independence. Veto sessions should be the norm from now on as Louisiana's constitution instructs. We have separate and equal branches of government for a reason. We will bring this bill back next year and will not stop fighting.”

With this vote, it is now likely that there will be no overrides of any of Governor Edwards' vetoes. Keep in mind that Edwards vetoed bills that won majority votes just to make it to his desk.