Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said the state's controversial bill restricting bathroom access and banning gender-affirmation healthcare for minors is similar to laws passed in "a lot of European countries."
"I applaud the legislature for taking a common-sense approach to making sure that we protect our children," Cameron said Thursday on Newsmax's "National Report." "And as the attorney general, if given the opportunity to defend the law, I will certainly do so."
Republican lawmakers in Kentucky on Wednesday overturned the governor's veto of a bill to ban transgender youths from gender-affirming healthcare and restrict which toilets they use in public schools, voting in line with a national conservative-led movement.
Both chambers of Kentucky's general assembly, where Republicans hold large majorities, voted overwhelmingly to override last week's veto by Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear, who is running for reelection in November.
Supporters of the bill said they passed the legislation to protect children from undergoing gender-affirming treatments they would regret later in life.
"There's been a lot of gaslighting around this legislation from the far-left media and from some far-left folks here in Kentucky, and Andy Beshear has bought into the far-left narrative," said Cameron, who has announced his candidacy for governor.
"We are only trying to do what even a lot of European countries have done, which is to protect our children from irreversible procedures that they might ultimately regret. Again, this is to … protect the minors here in the commonwealth of Kentucky, and we have a responsibility to do so.
"Someone's got to raise their hand and say, 'Enough.' We've got to make sure that we have common sense here in Kentucky. We've got to protect our kids from this woke ideology that's making its way into our schools and making its way into our nation, and I, as attorney general, and hopefully as governor, will do that."
Thomson/Reuters contributed to this story.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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