North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein vetoes 1 bill on gender identity, but signs another

T. Keung Hui, The Charlotte Observer on Jul 3, 2025

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Josh Stein vetoed a bill Thursday targeting the transgender community that declared North Carolina would only recognize two sexes.

Stein vetoed House Bill 805, which says North Carolina recognizes only two sexes and gender identity won’t be treated the same legally or biologically as sex. Other provisions in the bill include restrictions on where transgender students can sleep on overnight school trips and restrictions on state funding for gender-affirming care.

It was among four vetoes the Democratic governor issued on Thursday. The other three vetoes deal with bills that would bar diversity, equity and inclusion from being promoted in K-12 public schools, public higher education and in state agencies.

“My faith teaches me we are all children of God no matter our differences and that it is wrong to target vulnerable people, as this legislation does,” Stein said in his veto message. ”I stand ready to work with this legislature when it gets serious about protecting people, instead of mean-spirited attempts to further divide us by marginalizing vulnerable North Carolinians.”

Stein signed a different bill Thursday that also wades into the politics of gender identity. The new law includes a provision shielding parents from claims of abuse or neglect for refusing to recognize their child’s gender identity.

Will lawmakers override Stein?

Lawmakers had largely voted along party lines on the bill. It was supported by Republicans and opposed by most Democrats. But enough Democrats voted for the bills to potentially override Stein’s veto.

House Speaker Destin Hall said he was disappointed in the veto. Hall said House Bill 805 “would enshrine in law simple concepts that are just common sense” such as defining male and female.

“By rejecting this bill, he has sided with radical activists over the overwhelming majority of North Carolinians who believe in parental rights, biological reality, and protecting women and children,” Hall said in a statement.

NC bill declares there are only two sexes

House Bill 805 started as a bill drawing unanimous support for requiring porn websites to get consent from people before they could post their images online. But the bill was modified by the Senate to include several unrelated provisions, including the declaration that the state would only legally recognize two sexes.

GOP lawmakers have cited how President Donald Trump has signed an executive order saying the United States would only recognize two sexes: male and female.

Other provisions in the bill include:

—Barring unrelated students of different biological sexes from sleeping in the same room on overnight school trips. GOP lawmakers had expressed concerns about female students being required to sleep in the same room as a transgender student.

—Requiring school boards to excuse students from classroom activities, discussions or reading assignments if they or their parents cite a religious objection.

—Allowing parents to create a list of school library books that their children are not allowed to borrow.

—Requiring school districts to create a searchable online database where anyone from the public can see what books are in each school’s library.

—Preventing state funds from being used for gender-transition surgeries for anyone in the state prison system.

—Extending the deadline to file malpractice lawsuits related to gender-affirming care for adults.

Stein said lawmakers should have left the bill focused on its original intent of preventing the exploitation of women and children on pornographic websites.

”Instead of preventing sexual exploitation, the General Assembly chooses to engage in divisive, job-killing culture wars,” Stein said. “North Carolina has been down this road before, and it is a dead end.”

Parents Protection Act

Stein signed eight bills on Thursday, including Senate Bill 442, which is titled the “Parents Protection Act.”

The new state law bars denying prospective adoptive parents the placement of a child because they oppose gender-transition care for that child, The News & Observer previously reported.

Parents would be shielded from abuse or neglect claims for raising their child in line with the child’s sex assigned at birth, rather than the child’s preferred gender identity.

“Any parent of a child less than 18 years of age, or any other person providing care to or supervision of the child, is not guilty of a violation of this section for raising a child consistent with the child’s biological sex,” the bill reads.

Stein signed the bill despite it being opposed by most Democratic legislators.

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