Bill banning some treatments for transgender kids signed into law by Gov. Kemp

ATLANTA — On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp officially signed a bill banning doctors from performing certain medical procedures on transgender children.

Republicans told Channel 2′s Richard Elliott that they support the bill because they say it protected transgender children from irreversible medical procedures.

But critics insisted the bill will only hurt those children, both mentally and physically.

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Kemp signed SB 140, the Transgender Health bill behind closed doors Thursday without any pomp or circumstance.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Kemp said he wanted to protect the health and well being of Georgia’s children.

Cordele State Sen. Carden Summers wrote the bill.

It prohibits doctors from performing certain medical procedures on transgender children, such as hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery.

However, no new children could begin those procedures when the law goes into effect on July 1.

He rejects critics who accuse republicans of putting politics ahead of children.

“We’re not trying to do anything. We’re just trying to protect the children. That was the intent of the bill, and that’s where we’re at,” Summers said.

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But criticism came down almost as quickly as Kemp signed the bill.

Jeff Graham of Georgia Equality said in a statement to Channel 2 Action News

We are heartbroken to share that Governor Kemp signed SB 140 into law today. This legislation is a clear attack on the rights of transgender children, their parents, and the medical community in Georgia as a whole.

Parents, working in collaboration with their medical teams and adhering to standards of care, should be able to make decisions regarding their child's healthcare. In an especially egregious move, legislators have chosen to criminalize medical providers for following established standards of care. This threatens an already vulnerable medical system in Georgia by weighing political showmanship over fact-based scientific evidence.

We are grateful for the hundreds of parents, medical providers, transgender youth, and supporters who showed up at the Capitol over the last few weeks, and the thousands of Georgians from throughout the state who took action to urge their elected officials to oppose this bill. With nearly 10,000 messages sent to elected officials opposing SB 140, it is clear that this new law is out of line with the majority of Georgians on this issue.

During a year of unprecedented, coordinated national attacks on LGBTQ rights, we are truly heartbroken to see these attacks succeed in Georgia. We know that Georgia is better than this and that the majority of Georgians stand with us on the right side of history.

Most importantly, to the transgender and non-binary youth of Georgia: we see you, we love you, and we will never give up fighting for you.

We will not be moving forward with the Veto SB 140 rally planned for next week but instead will be putting our resources toward supporting the existing events leading up to Transgender Day of Visibility. Supporting the leadership of the broader transgender community is extremely important at this time. More information about those events

—  Jeff Graham

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Atlanta Democratic lawmaker Karla Drenner was the first openly gay state legislator.

She criticized the governor and the entire process of approving the bill.

She says this is a clear case of republicans targeting transgender children for political gain.

“Trans kids are on the menu, unfortunately. I have a hard time believing that this was all about protecting kids,” Drenner said.

In a statement from the ACLU of Georgia, Executive Director Andrea Young promised it would use every legal means to block the bill, and they plan to file lawsuits soon.

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