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'''John Bel Edwards''' (born September 16, 1966) is the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[governor]] of his native [[Louisiana]], who won reelection in a runoff contest held on November 16, 2019. By 40,000 votes, he defeated the [[Republican Party|Republican]] choice, [[Baton Rouge]] [[business]]man [[Eddie Rispone]].

'''John Bel Edwards''' (born September 16, 1966) is the [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] former  [[governor]] of his native [[Louisiana]], who won reelection in a runoff contest held on November 16, 2019. By exactly 40,000 votes (51-49 percent), he defeated the [[Republican Party|Republican]] choice that year, [[Baton Rouge]] [[business]]man [[Eddie Rispone]].

==Background==

==Background==

Louisiana remains a state which permits transgender men to compete in women sports, a practiced banned in the more conservative states. In 200. In 2021, Edwards vetoed legislation passed by both legislative chambers that would have banned transgenders from women's sports competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lailluminator.com/2021/06/22/louisiana-governor-vetoes-transgender-sports-ban/|title=Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards vetoes ban on transgender women and girls in women’s sports: Lawmakers passed the bill with overwhelming support|author=Julie O'Donoghue|publisher=lailluminator.com|date=June 22, 2021|accessdate=March 11, 2022}}</ref>

Louisiana remains a state which permits transgender men to compete in women sports, a practiced banned in the more conservative states. In 200. In 2021, Edwards vetoed legislation passed by both legislative chambers that would have banned transgenders from women's sports competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lailluminator.com/2021/06/22/louisiana-governor-vetoes-transgender-sports-ban/|title=Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards vetoes ban on transgender women and girls in women’s sports: Lawmakers passed the bill with overwhelming support|author=Julie O'Donoghue|publisher=lailluminator.com|date=June 22, 2021|accessdate=March 11, 2022}}</ref>

==Edwards reaffirms his "pro-life" stance==

==Edwards reaffirms his "pro-life" stance==

In the spring of 2020, Edwards gained repeated national television exposure regarding how hard Louisiana has been hit in the [[coronavirus]] pandemic, particularly New Orleans during [[Mardi Gras]]. Edwards issued a "stay-at-home" order, including churches, but he exempted [[abortion]] clinics from the order though he has long-claimed a "pro-life" position. When he ran for governor in 2015, he cut an advertisement explaining that he and his wife, Donna, had not aborted a child diagnosed as special-needs while still in the womb. He also signed in his first term an anti-abortion bill since held in abeyance by federal courts. The legislation had large bipartisan majorities in both houses of the legislature..<ref>''[[Moon Griffon|The Moon Griffon Show]],'' April 6, 2020.</ref> Radio commentator [[Moon Griffon]] has been a persistent critic of the governor, who he has called "St. Bel" because of what Griffon sees as the governor's sanctimonious political stances.

In the spring of 2020, Edwards gained repeated national television exposure regarding how hard Louisiana has been hit in the [[coronavirus]] pandemic, particularly New Orleans during [[Mardi Gras]]. Edwards issued a "stay-at-home" order, including churches, but he exempted [[abortion]] clinics from the order though he has long-claimed a "pro-life" position. When he ran for governor in 2015, he cut an advertisement explaining that he and his wife, Donna, had not aborted a child diagnosed as special-needs while still in the womb. He also signed in his first term an anti-abortion bill since held in abeyance by federal courts. The legislation had large bipartisan majorities in both houses of the legislature..<ref>''[[Moon Griffon|The Moon Griffon Show]],'' April 6, 2020.</ref> Radio commentator [[Moon Griffon]] has been a persistent critic of the governor, who he has called "St. Bel" because of what Griffon sees as the governor's sanctimonious political stances.

In June 2022, Edwards reaffirmed his opposition to abortion by signing into law a pro-life bill that will ban abortions immediately as soon as the [[United States Supreme Court]] overturns the 1973 ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' opinion. Edwards signed another bill which bans mail-order abortions to ensure that abortion pills that harm women and kill unborn babies are not sold in Louisiana. He also signed into law Senate Bill 342, the Reaffirmation of the Human Life Protection Act by Democrat Senator Katrina Jackson, and Senate Bill 388, the Mail-Order Abortion Prohibition Act by Republican state Senator Sharon Hewitt.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/louisiana-governor-signs-abortion-bills-imposing-criminal-penalties/story?id=85258010|title=Louisiana governor signs abortion bills imposing criminal penalties on providers. There are no exceptions for abortions performed in cases of rape or incest|publisher=[[ABC]] News|date=June 21, 2022|author=Mary Kekatos|accessdate=June 22, 2022}}</ref>

In June 2022, Edwards reaffirmed his opposition to abortion by signing into law a pro-life bill that will ban abortions immediately as soon as the [[United States Supreme Court]] overturns the 1973 ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' opinion. Edwards signed another bill which bans mail-order abortions to ensure that abortion pills that harm women and kill unborn babies are not sold in Louisiana. He also signed into law Senate Bill 342, the Reaffirmation of the Human Life Protection Act by Democrat Senator Katrina Jackson, and Senate Bill 388, the Mail-Order Abortion Prohibition Act by Republican state Senator Sharon Hewitt, an unsuccessful guberatorial candidate in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/louisiana-governor-signs-abortion-bills-imposing-criminal-penalties/story?id=85258010|title=Louisiana governor signs abortion bills imposing criminal penalties on providers. There are no exceptions for abortions performed in cases of rape or incest|publisher=[[ABC]] News|date=June 21, 2022|author=Mary Kekatos|accessdate=June 22, 2022}}</ref>

==Ronald Greene case==

==Ronald Greene case==

In 2019, while Governor Edwards was seeking reelection, a 49-year-old African-American motorist, Ronald Greene of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], died in the custody of state police amid questionable circumstances. Long-withheld body camera footage reveals that white troopers brutalized Greene on a rural roadside in northeast Louisiana. Controversy remains whether Edwards knew at the time the details of Greene's death. The cause of death had been initially listed as a car crash.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-releases-footage-ronald-greene-s-arrest-ex-officers-say-n1268223|title=Louisiana releases footage of Ronald Greene's arrest that ex-officers say further erodes trust in police: An autopsy report cites multiple contributing factors in Greene's May 2019 death, including injuries to his head and restraint.|publisher=[[NBC]] News|date=May 21, 2021|accessdate=March 10, 2022}}</ref>

In 2019, while Governor Edwards sought reelection, a 49-year-old African-American motorist, Ronald Greene of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], died in the custody of state police amid questionable circumstances. Long-withheld body camera footage reveals that white troopers brutalized Greene on a rural roadside in northeast Louisiana. Controversy remains whether Edwards knew at the time the details of Greene's death. The cause of death had been initially listed as a car crash.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-releases-footage-ronald-greene-s-arrest-ex-officers-say-n1268223|title=Louisiana releases footage of Ronald Greene's arrest that ex-officers say further erodes trust in police: An autopsy report cites multiple contributing factors in Greene's May 2019 death, including injuries to his head and restraint.|publisher=[[NBC]] News|date=May 21, 2021|accessdate=March 10, 2022}}</ref>

==Veto of congressional redistricting bill==

==Veto of congressional redistricting bill==

The veto override was only the third such occurrence since the implementation of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974.<ref name=redriverradio>{{cite web|url=https://www.redriverradio.org/news/2022-03-31/la-lawmakers-override-gov-edwards-redistricting-maps-veto?msclkid=f8c3d291b12911ec986b177e13cfa6a6|title=LA Lawmakers Override Governor Edwards' Redistricting Maps Veto|publisher=Red River Radio|author=Chuck Smith|date=March 31, 2022}}</ref> Civil rights groups immediately filed suit against the legislative map. The lawmakers "once again voted in favor of a map that violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and undermines the will of thousands of Louisianans who made their voices heard throughout the process demanding fair maps and respect for Black Louisianans," according to Victoria Wengerr, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. At issue is whether a predominantly black district must be compact as with District 2 in Louisian, or if a second district can be carved irregularly so as to link minority communities across wide swaths of geography.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetowntalk.com/story/news/2022/03/31/civil-rights-groups-file-lawsuit-block-louisianas-congressional-map/7228870001/|title=Civil rights groups sue to block Louisiana's congressional map that keeps one Black district|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|author=[[Greg Hilburn]]|date=March 31, 2022|accessdate=April 1, 2022}}</ref>

The veto override was only the third such occurrence since the implementation of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974.<ref name=redriverradio>{{cite web|url=https://www.redriverradio.org/news/2022-03-31/la-lawmakers-override-gov-edwards-redistricting-maps-veto?msclkid=f8c3d291b12911ec986b177e13cfa6a6|title=LA Lawmakers Override Governor Edwards' Redistricting Maps Veto|publisher=Red River Radio|author=Chuck Smith|date=March 31, 2022}}</ref> Civil rights groups immediately filed suit against the legislative map. The lawmakers "once again voted in favor of a map that violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and undermines the will of thousands of Louisianans who made their voices heard throughout the process demanding fair maps and respect for Black Louisianans," according to Victoria Wengerr, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. At issue is whether a predominantly black district must be compact as with District 2 in Louisian, or if a second district can be carved irregularly so as to link minority communities across wide swaths of geography.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetowntalk.com/story/news/2022/03/31/civil-rights-groups-file-lawsuit-block-louisianas-congressional-map/7228870001/|title=Civil rights groups sue to block Louisiana's congressional map that keeps one Black district|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|author=[[Greg Hilburn]]|date=March 31, 2022|accessdate=April 1, 2022}}</ref>

==References==

==References==