JC Harmon COS & Rep. Firment (Bill Author)
House Bill 648, introduced to the Louisiana Legislature, became a central issue in the state. The bill prohibits specific procedures to alter the sex of a minor child.
You would think this was a cut-and-dried issue. Who would want to mutilate your child or someone else's child? Well, a few legislators wanted this bill to fail, and the governor chose to veto it after it passed both the House and the Senate in the regular session.
Like the Battle of Concord, a shot heard around the state created an outpouring of citizens mad as hatters. Conservatives and Conservative groups were in an uproar over the veto.
The House gallery was packed.
Convention of States Action Louisiana testified for the bill in committee, and the team attended all the sessions throughout the bill's movement through the legislative process. The governor's veto of the bill was overridden on July 18 in the veto override session. COS LA's unrelenting support and responses to calls to action played a huge role in this victory for the children of Louisiana.
Rep. Gabe Firment, author of HB648, said this about COS Action LA: "I am convinced that without the relentless efforts of COS and other grassroots organizations, the state legislature would never have overridden the governor’s veto of HB648. The emails from COS members within legislators’ districts were especially effective in persuading legislators to override the governor’s egregious veto. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of COS members, the children of Louisiana are safe from irreversible, experimental sex change procedures that maim the body and destroy the soul."
COS Team Members & Supporters
Patriots throughout the state who responded, again and again, to calls to action deserve recognition. That participation in the process made all the difference, as Representative Firment said.
The bill will become law effective Jan 1, 2024.
Below is a synopsis of COS calls for action emails and texts that COS volunteers and supporters sent. Many thanks to all who responded to the following calls to action. Your participation made a big difference.
| HB 648(Firment) |
| 4/29 - to House Health and Welfare Committee (368 emails sent) |
| 5/27 - Full House ( 427) Senate Education Committee (did not pass). |
| CTA - urge State Senators and Senate President to allow the bill to be re-heard in a different committee (361). |
| Senate Judiciary A Committee: Support the override session (491). |
| TelePatriot mission - 1,318 calls. |
| Video encouraging people to attend the override session and contact legislators (491). |
| Total 1,769 responses to CTA's for HB648 (also included HB466). |
Link to HB648 Timeline and votes on the Louisiana Legislative Website
