The bills target trans kids and one will make discussions of LGBTQ+ people in schools much more difficult. LGBTQ+ advocates spoke out against the bills, saying that they mandated discrimination against trans children.
I agree with you. The intervention of the state government is a blunt instrument and these issues are best left to the discretion of the teacher, the principal, and the school district. Are there actually any school districts so libertine and so heedless of the wishes of the parents that the state needs to restrain them? I doubt it. I’d put this law into the “seeks to solve problems that have not presented themselves in New Hampshire, and in doing so invites unnecessary discord” category (I would say “culture war bullshit” category, but that’s why I’m not the governor) but at the same time I think vetoing a law passed by the state legislature shouldn’t be done lightly and the problems caused by this law are sufficiently minor that a veto isn’t necessary.
I suppose I should elaborate on what I meant by “appropriate for New Hampshire”. I didn’t mean “what I would personally prefer” but rather “what strikes a good balance between protecting vulnerable people and being responsive to voters”. I think a lot of the voters want to fight in the culture war, the governor clearly doesn’t (and rightly so), he’s doing what he can to reduce tensions without just ignoring what the voters want, and in this case what the voters want is mostly symbolic.
I agree with you. The intervention of the state government is a blunt instrument and these issues are best left to the discretion of the teacher, the principal, and the school district. Are there actually any school districts so libertine and so heedless of the wishes of the parents that the state needs to restrain them? I doubt it. I’d put this law into the “seeks to solve problems that have not presented themselves in New Hampshire, and in doing so invites unnecessary discord” category (I would say “culture war bullshit” category, but that’s why I’m not the governor) but at the same time I think vetoing a law passed by the state legislature shouldn’t be done lightly and the problems caused by this law are sufficiently minor that a veto isn’t necessary.
I suppose I should elaborate on what I meant by “appropriate for New Hampshire”. I didn’t mean “what I would personally prefer” but rather “what strikes a good balance between protecting vulnerable people and being responsive to voters”. I think a lot of the voters want to fight in the culture war, the governor clearly doesn’t (and rightly so), he’s doing what he can to reduce tensions without just ignoring what the voters want, and in this case what the voters want is mostly symbolic.