In a victory for children, Arkansas has became the first state to ban gender transition procedures for children and teens when its legislature overrode a veto of a bill by the governor, who had rejected the bill one day earlier.

The bill, known as the “Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act,” became law by passing the state House 71-24 and the Senate, 25-8.

“Our children stand as pawns right now. They’re minors and they’re children and they need to be protected” from the medical profession, said state Rep. Robin Lundstrum, a bill sponsor. “Even medicine sometimes is wrong. We should never experiment on children. Ever.”

The bill states: “A physician or other healthcare professional shall not provide gender transition procedures to any individual under eighteen (18) years of age.” It defines “gender transition procedures” as the use of puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or “genital or nongenital gender reassignment surgery performed for the purpose of assisting an individual with a gender transition.” Doctors and other medical personnel who violate the new law could lose their license.

“Arkansas has a compelling government interest in protecting the health and safety of its citizens, especially vulnerable children,” the bill’s legislative findings say.

GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed the bill on Monday. Republicans control the House and Senate.

The bill cites studies that say the majority of gender-nonconforming children “come to identify with their biological sex in adolescence or adulthood, thereby rendering most physiological interventions unnecessary.”

The legislative findings criticize the use of cross-sex hormones, saying there have been “no randomized clinical trials” examining “the efficacy or safety” of cross-sex hormones in adults or children “for the purpose of treating such distress or gender transition.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, applauded the legislature for passing the bill. He called it a “victory for children.”

“The state of Arkansas has taken the lead in the race to protect children from a political movement that advocates for using off-label drugs and experimental procedures on minors,” Perkins said.

A Christian professional photographer has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of New York, seeking to overturn a law that could result in her being jailed for up to a year and fined $100,000 if she does not work same-sex weddings.

The law in question prohibits “unlawful discriminatory practices” because of sexual orientation in “any place of public accommodation.” The law does not limit the definition of public accommodation to a physical space and includes “retail … establishments dealing with goods or services of any kind,” according to the lawsuit.

Photographer Emilee Carpenter owns a photography business that offers several services and specializes in wedding photographs. She also is a Christian who believes in the biblical definition of marriage.

“Emilee believes that God designed marriage as a gift for people of all faiths, races, and backgrounds, to reflect the unity and diversity seen in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and to point people to Jesus’ sacrificial and redemptive love for His Church,” the suit says. “Emilee celebrates engagements and marriages between one man and one woman through what she photographs, participates in, and posts about in order to share God’s design for marriage with her clients and the public consistent with her beliefs.”

Alliance Defending Freedom filed suit on her behalf, alleging the law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, including her freedom of speech and free exercise of religion.

“Just as the government cannot compel a lesbian baker to create a cake condemning same-sex marriage or an atheist playwright to wax positively about God, New York cannot force Emilee to convey messages she objects to,” the suit says.

The law would force Carpenter to “celebrate same-sex engagements or weddings” and “promote messages” that “violate her religious beliefs or require her to participate in religious ceremonies that violate her religious beliefs,” the suit says. The law also restricts what she can say on her website about her services, according to the suit.

The suit explicitly says Carpenter will work with LGBT individuals and LGBT-owned businesses to create “branding photographs.” But her religious beliefs prohibit her from photographing same-sex weddings, the suit says.

“Creative professionals like Emilee should have the freedom to create art consistent with their beliefs without fear of the government closing their business or throwing them in jail,” said ADF legal counsel Bryan Neihart. “Emilee serves all people; she just cannot promote messages which contradict her religious beliefs about any topic, including marriage. The government cannot treat some people worse than others based on their religious views.”

In 2019, the U.S. Eighth Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court each sided with artists in similar cases.