Heated floor exchange over HB 148 as member reads names of transgender victims

During consideration of the governor's veto on House Bill 148 (provisions permitting classification by biological sex under certain circumstances), Representative Wade addressed the chamber at length, framing the bill as dehumanizing to transgender people and citing Trans Day of Remembrance. She read aloud a list of transgender people who had died and urged colleagues to press the red button to sustain the governor's veto.

Several members objected to the reading of names during the debate, raising points of order about whether that content was germane to the question before the House. A member lodged an objection to the continued speaking and requested a division (roll-call) vote on whether the member should be allowed to continue. The House held the roll-call and the clerk announced the result permitting Representative Wade to continue.

Other speakers framed the bill differently. Representative Churr argued the bill weakens gender‑identity protections added in prior years and warned of potential litigation and exclusionary effects. Proponents such as Representative Sellers and Representative DeVito characterized HB 148 as preserving local flexibility and protecting women's privacy and safety, and they urged overriding the governor's veto. The debate included strongly worded personal testimony, claims about local school responses, and procedural interruptions.

The House later moved to print the debate in the permanent journal per member motions. The transcript records emotional testimony, contention over floor decorum and germaneness, and a formal roll-call to resolve a point of order; the final override outcome for HB 148 in this excerpt is recorded in the broader sequence of veto votes, and no override was sustained during the session.