Arkansas governor, Asa Hutchinson, vetoes House Bill 1570

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On Monday, Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson vetoed House Bill 1570 from the Arkansas legislature.

The bill banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth under the age of 18. House Bill 1570 bans puberty blockers, and hormone therapy, among other things.

The SAFE act or Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act passed the House and Senate of Arkansas with the House voting 70 to 22 with 8 absent and the senate voting 28 to 7. The bill was sponsored by House of Representatives member Robin Lundstrum, a Republican.

Governor Hutchinson called the bill, "a vast government overreach.” After the governor vetoed the bill, the Arkansas House and Senate reversed his veto and the SAFE Act became law. The governor's veto was overridden with a 71 to 24 vote in the Arkansas House of Representatives and a 25 to 8 vote in the Senate.

After Governor Hutchinson's veto was undone, Hutchinson said, "The Republican Party that I grew up with believed in a restrained government that did not jump in the middle of every issue.” The governor also said that more legislation along the same lines as the SAFE Act dismay him.