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Timeline › 2023 › July

July 2023

2 entries from July 2023.

Jul 18

Louisiana Legislature overrode Gov. Edwards' veto to enact HB648, banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors

On July 18, 2023, the Louisiana Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards's veto of HB648, enacting Act 466, a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The House voted 76-23 and the Senate 28-11 to override, both exceeding the two-thirds threshold. The law bars anyone under 18 from receiving gender-affirming surgery, puberty-blocking medication, or hormone treatment and revokes for at least two years the license of any health professional who provides such care, effective January 1, 2024.

Jul 12

Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth's office misstated drug-conspiracy law to jury in fentanyl trial

During Mohamed Abdulgani Ahmed's July 2023 trial on fentanyl-trafficking charges, Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth's office told jurors in closing argument that they did not need to find Ahmed knew the conspiracy involved drug quantities above the statutory first-degree threshold -- a misstatement of Minnesota conspiracy law. The jury convicted Ahmed on six counts, including first-degree conspiracy and sale, on July 12, 2023, in what was described as the largest fentanyl seizure in Polk County history. The error is part of a two-decade pattern of legally aggressive charging by Widseth, who has run unopposed in every county-attorney election since 2002.