Asa Hutchinson on Arkansas’s Anti-Trans Law and the G.O.P. Culture Wars

The state’s Republican governor, who recently vetoed an anti-transgender bill only to be overridden by the legislature, spoke to The Times about why his party has “got to show greater compassion.”

In recent weeks, a number of Republican state legislatures have introduced bills placing new restrictions on transgender rights and medical care. One of the farthest-reaching measures passed in Arkansas this week, prohibiting gender-confirming treatments or surgery for transgender youths — the first such ban to become law anywhere in the country. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, opposed the bill, after supporting other laws limiting transgender rights. He has been making the case that the legislation not only violates conservative principles but could also hurt Republicans politically.