By Joshua Arnold

The North Carolina legislature on Tuesday successfully overrode Governor Josh Stein’s (D) veto to enact a bill (HB 805) that protects women, children, and parental rights and enshrines clarity and common sense in the state’s treatment of gender and sexuality. “Today is a great day for families in North Carolina!” responded North Carolina Family Vice President Mitch Prosser. “Not only are women and children better protected from the harms of exploitation in pornography, but the enactment of HB 805 also clearly defines male and female in state law based on innate biological sex.”

Contents of the Bill

In its final form, HB 805 established and strengthened common sense recognition of basic human biology across a wide spectrum of laws. It began with “official recognition of two sexes,” which it defined in biological terms throughout North Carolina law. This contrasts with states that have worked to remove gendered language (for instance, in California, Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) wife is referred to as the “First Partner”).

In its original form, HB 805 protected women and children from pornographic exploitation by penalizing the publication of images without consent or with coerced consent. This was a non-controversial bill, and that language remains in the final product, albeit with many other additions.

HB 805 also expands upon a 2023 law (which, coincidentally, was numbered HB 808 and was also passed over the veto of then-Democratic Governor Roy Cooper). The 2023 law protected minors from gender transition procedures and prohibited the use of state funds to subsidize gender transition procedures for minors. The 2025 law expands this protection by creating a civil remedy for non-minors harmed by gender transition procedures and by prohibiting the use of state funds to subsidize gender transition procedures for prisoners. (The Daily Wire incorrectly reported that the 2025 measure cut off state funds for minor gender transition procedures, but the North Carolina legislature enacted that language in 2023.)

HB 805 requires local school districts to honor religiously grounded parental requests for their students to be excused from classroom “discussions, activities, or assigned readings” and to provide alternate assignments. It also requires school districts to allow parents to access books in school libraries. And it requires schools to “adopt a policy that prohibits students from sharing sleeping quarters with a member of the other biological sex,” siblings excepted, on overnight school trips.

Finally, HB 805 required a paper trail of documentation whenever someone changed the sex designation on their birth certificate. “When the sex of a person is changed on an amended or new birth certificate,” it stipulated, “the State Registrar shall attach the new certificate to the certificate of birth then on file and shall preserve both certificates as a multi-page document.” This provision still allows North Carolinians to change the sex marker on their birth certificate, an allowance strangely at odds with the biological definition of sex with which the law began.

Governor’s Veto

This moderation did not dissuade Governor Stein from his decision to veto the bill. “The General Assembly chooses to engage in divisive, job-killing culture wars,” he complained. He said he would only have signed the bill’s original, non-controversial language regarding exploitative pornography.

Notably, Stein, who is Jewish, attempted to marshal biblical tenets to defend his opposition to biblical sexuality. “My faith teaches me that we are all children of God no matter our differences, and that it is wrong to target vulnerable people, as this legislation does,” he wrote. “I stand ready to work with the legislature when it gets serious about protecting people, instead of mean-spirited attempts to further divide us by marginalizing vulnerable North Carolinians.”

“The governor’s appeal to faith misapplies core biblical truths,” responded David Closson, director of FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview, in a statement to TWS. “Scripture is clear that every person is made in the image of God and therefore possesses inherent dignity and worth (Genesis 1:27).”

“This law doesn’t target vulnerable people, it protects them,” Closson continued. “It stops the use of taxpayer funds for irreversible and experimental procedures in prisons. It defends the rights of parents to know and guide what their children are being taught about gender and sexuality. It ensures that public records remain tethered to biological reality. … Far from being harmful, this legislation reflects a commitment to justice, truth, and the common good. That’s what civil government is supposed to do (Romans 13:1-4).”

Veto Override

Once this veto message returned to the state legislature, both chambers dispatched their override votes in a single morning. At 10:05 a.m. on July 29, the North Carolina House voted 72-48 to override the veto, just squeaking by the necessary 60% threshold. At 11:28 a.m., the North Carolina Senate voted 30-19 to override the veto as well.

The vote broke down along party lines, with one notable exception. In the House, Republicans are one vote short of a veto-proof majority. So, North Carolina Rep. Nasif Majeed (D) crossed the aisle and voted with Republicans.

Majeed’s vote may surprise people who have grown comfortable with calcified partisan divides. As a Muslim imam who teaches at his mosque’s Islamic school, Majeed may seem like an unlikely candidate to side with conservative Republicans. His 50% black, overwhelmingly Democratic district would make voting down the party line quite simple. But Majeed told reporters, “I had some moral issues, and I had to lean on my values.” It would seem that leftists who overplayed their hand on transgender issues have broken apart America’s calcified politics ?“ largely to the detriment of Democrats.

"I’m grateful for state representative Majeed’s courage in voting for this legislation. His support shows that these are not just ‘Christian values’; they are human values grounded in biology, natural law, and common sense,” Closson responded. “Christians can and should work with people of other faiths when we share common moral convictions. As long as our collaboration is principled and issue-specific, we can unite around shared concerns for family, children, and societal stability. This is an example of what it looks like to pursue the common good in a pluralistic society.” 

Democratic Conundrum

Meanwhile, some Democratic legislators slammed the bill. “When we decide we are going to legislate based on our personal morality … two things happen,” intoned North Carolina Rep. Laura Budd (D). “One, it demonstrates a profound lack of respect for someone else who has a differing set of principles and values. And, also, the collateral damage is demonstrably cruel.”

Closson responded that Budd “misunderstands the role of morality in law,” explaining that “every law reflects a moral judgement. Whether it’s laws against theft, discrimination, or abuse, we constantly legislate based on deeply held convictions about right and wrong.”

“In this case, the legislation is not about imposing personal morality,” he continued. “It’s about affirming objective moral and biological realities. Children are not political experiments. Women deserve safe spaces. Parents have the right to direct their children’s upbringing. And government has a duty to restrain evil and promote good. That’s not cruelty. It’s courage.”

Given the stakes at play, “the fact that Majeed was the only Democratic lawmaker to vote to override the governor is a remarkable commentary on the state Democratic Party in North Carolina,” Closson added.

Meanwhile, state Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch (D) was accusing Republicans of “playing politics.” She alleged, “They don’t actually care. They’re doing it for a show. They’re doing it to go ahead and get us to be silent.” Claiming without evidence to know another’s motives is usually the move of someone who knows she is losing the argument.

In reality, North Carolina Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for their party’s recent legislative defeats (Republicans on Tuesday obtained help from Democratic members to override eight of Governor Stein’s 14 vetoes). In 2023, the Democrats’ ideological litmus test against school choice chased North Carolina Rep. Trica Cotham (R) out of their party and into the welcoming arms of Republicans.

Cotham’s change of allegiance gave Republicans the supermajority they needed to override vetoes on protecting unborn lives and protecting minors from gender transition procedures. In the 2024 election, Republicans lost their veto-proof majority by one seat, but there are clearly plenty of Democrats willing to vote with them on various issues.

Cotham remains in the House and voted with her new Republican conference to affirm clear language on gender and sexuality. If Democrats had not chased her away, Republicans might be chasing two Democratic votes on any potential override.

“We applaud the NC House and Senate for taking this needed and common-sense step to protect women and girls, and to reaffirm parental rights in our state,” NC Values Coalition executive director Tami Fitzgerald remarked. “We’d like to thank the General Assembly for taking bold action this session to ensure that families in our state have the best conditions to thrive and flourish.”

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.