Two governors pursue opposing visions for a New South

By Charles M. Blow / The New York Times

Last week, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, a Democrat, signed an executive order pardoning 175,000 marijuana convictions, saying, “Today, we take a big step forward toward ensuring equal justice for all.” But, he said, “this won’t be our last effort. We must continue to move in partnership to build a state and society that is more equitable, more just and leaves no one behind.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, a Republican, has recently signed several bills that he says are intended to “expand faith in public schools.”

One requires teachers and other school employees to address transgender students using the pronouns for the genders listed on their birth certificates; “God gives us our mark,” Landry said. The governor, The Advocate reported last year, “has an intensely anti-LGBTQ+ record, having opposed anti-discrimination protections even though he has a gay brother” and, as Louisiana’s attorney general, he “pushed the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.”

Earlier this month, as nola.com reports, Landry also signed a bill to “block transgender people from using facilities in schools, prisons and domestic violence shelters that align with their gender identity.” In a statement, he said that the bill “protects women’s safety and reinforces the very definition of what it means to be a woman.”

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/blow-two-governors-pursue-opposing-visions-for-a-new-south/