LSU professor Marcus Venable has been banned from teaching at the university after leaving an offensive voicemail on a Louisiana state senator’s cellphone.
An LSU lecturer has been barred from teaching at the university after he left a lewd voicemail to a Louisiana state senator who voted to ban gender-affirming health care for children.
Professor Marcus Venable allegedly left an angry message on Republican State Senator Mike Facey’s cellphone after he voted yes on House Bill 648.
The bill – called the ‘Stop Harming Our Kids Act’ – bans hormone treatment and puberty-blocking drugs, gender-affirming surgery and other related care for those under 18.
Facey justified his stance based on anecdotes from people who had undergone such treatment but now regretted doing so.
He made his points in a floor speech Tuesday during a one-day veto override session of the Louisiana Legislature.
State Senator Mike Facey Votes to Ban Gender-Affirming Health Care for Transgender Children That Bans Hormone Treatment, Puberty-Suppressing Drugs
Facey is pictured delivering his speech on the floor of the Louisiana House earlier this week
‘You know who the real experts are, they’re the ones who’ve had this procedure done and they’re now in their mid-twenties and late twenties, and trying to say they hate their parents for letting this happen to them,’ Senator Facey said Tuesday at the Louisiana Capitol in Baton Rouge.
The passed bill will now ban certain procedures to change the sex of a baby from January 1. The legislature has become the latest Republican-led state to ban trans-centric health care.
Venable’s voicemail made no attempt to hide how angry he was about Facey’s position.
‘I just wanted to say ‘congratulations to our state senator, Big Mike Facey. And those idiots voted to make things worse for those already suffering. You’re a fat sh**,’ Venable began.
‘You have not presented any g**d**** evidence to support your claim that people are harmed by transgender care, yet we have plenty of empirical evidence that tells us there is an increased risk of suicide for people who do not receive this care.
Twenty other states have passed similar measures to ban gender-defining care, most of them this year
‘So you, you fat headed motherf***er, I can’t wait to read your name in your death. In a 50-second voicemail, Venable said ‘I’ll make you a goddamn martini made with the tears of your buttheart conservatives while we put your stunning ** on the ground, you useless piece of fat ****ing,”
‘F*** you. I hope you have an awesome day. Go yourself,’ he concluded.
Twenty other states have passed similar measures, most of them this year.
The House voted 75 to 23 to override the Democratic governor’s veto, while the Senate voted 25 to 11 to override it.
After receiving the threatening message, Senator Facey contacted the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, who in turn passed the case on to the Louisiana State Police.
‘I just want them to investigate them, and do what they think is right. I don’t want to see anybody get hurt,’ Facey told WAFB.
The House voted 75 to 23 to override the Democratic governor’s veto, while the Senate voted 25 to 11 to override it.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards had previously vetoed the bill
Democratic Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said he hoped the court would strike down the ‘unconstitutional bill’ as well.
‘You know, it goes a long way. We just realize that everyone’s got their opinion, we still live in a great country for free speech. But we’ve managed to hold it on a condition that everyone understands each other, and we don’t always have to agree,’ said Senator Facey.
Police were quickly able to track the phone call to Venable’s phone. No charges have been filed but the case remains under investigation.
LSU quickly banned Venable from returning to the lecture hall to teach classes. Venable is a graduate student at the university and will still be allowed on campus to continue his studies.
Venable was teaching in the Department of Sociology. His special research interests are listed as criminology, sexual assault, sex offender recovery, and sex offender registries.
‘As a university we encourage open and respectful dialogue. Like everyone else, graduate students with teaching responsibilities have the right to express their opinions, but this profanity-filled, threatening call crossed the line,” a statement from LSU said.
‘This does not demonstrate the character we expect from someone given the privilege of teaching as part of their graduate assistantship. The student will be allowed to continue their studies but will not be extended future teaching opportunities.’
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards had previously vetoed the bill.
‘Today, for the second time, I have overridden a bill with my veto that unnecessarily harms a very small population of vulnerable children, their families and their health care professionals,’ Edwards said in a statement.
Edwards, the governor since 2016, said in a previous override, involving the redistricting of the state’s congressional maps, a court later sided with him.
Edwards said he hopes the court will strike down the ‘unconstitutional bill’ as well.
Republican Rep. Gabe Ferment, the bill’s author, said Louisiana was simply following the lead of “every single Southern state” that has passed similar legislation.
‘We cannot allow Louisiana to become a sanctuary state for the sterilization of innocent children,’ he said in a statement before the override vote.
Judges in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee have all found that such restrictions violate equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
The judges said laws banning such care infringed on parents’ right to make health care decisions for their children.
Cases challenging such laws have not been ruled on in Montana and Georgia, with a third held in Oklahoma until the case is heard in court.
Another bill that would have banned discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools, and one that sought to prevent students from using preferred names and pronouns, was also up for a vote on an override in the Louisiana House.
It didn’t get enough votes to get off the House floor.
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