Transgender bill fills Senate session with talk — no action

By Olivia Sklenka, Missouri News Network
Posted 3/7/23

JEFFERSON CITY — State Democrats tied up the Senate for over five hours Tuesday afternoon, delaying action on bills restricting transgender youth rights.

Bill sponsor Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash …

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Transgender bill fills Senate session with talk — no action

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JEFFERSON CITY — State Democrats tied up the Senate for over five hours Tuesday afternoon, delaying action on bills restricting transgender youth rights.

Bill sponsor Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, began discussing gender-affirming care — known as the SAFE Act — and his desire to protect minors from what he refers to as mutilation.

The bill would limit transgender youth’s access to gender-affirming care and participation in sports matching their gender identity.

“The intent of this bill is to protect youngsters to allow them to mature,” Moon said.

Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, had sponsored a similar bill relating to gender-affirming care and vocalized his support.

“These types of procedures should not be performed on minors, whether it’s puberty blockers, whether it’s hormone treatments, whether it’s the surgeries,” Hoskins said. “We’ve seen and heard of examples where (medical professionals) been performing these on innocent kids.”

“All we’re asking is we put a pause on (gender-affirming care), so they can live as kids, develop, and then when they’re more mature, make a better choice,” he said.

In response to concerns voiced by several Democrats, Hoskins highlighted other age requirements that children face.

“We have other age restrictions. You have to be 21 years old to buy liquor or marijuana. You have to be 18 years old to vote,” Hoskins said. “But somehow we think that 8-year-olds, 6-year-old, 10-year-old kids are old enough to decide they want to transition.”

While the concept is not unique to Missouri, the focus of this legislative session stunned Democrats.

“I want to point out to anyone listening that there is not a single doctor serving in this chamber,” said Sen. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City.

Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, expressed her discomfort over a legislative body making medical decisions.

“I’m extremely uncomfortable with us as a body saying we know more than physicians and healthcare providers with advanced degrees, advanced areas of expertise,” McCreery said.

Razer, an openly gay member of the legislature, said he believes the kids “are who they say they are” because he has gone through an experience he feels is very similar.

“I realized I was gay when I was five or six years old,” Razer said.

Razer attributes his original fear of coming out to the lack of support that was present within the local community and the dismissive statements that his feelings were “just a phase.”

“We’re going to hear a lot about ‘what about these kids that change their minds, that it’s just a phase they are going through, that it’s the cool thing to do now,’” Razer said. “There is not a high school in Missouri where it’s the cool thing for a 17-year-old boy to show up in a dress.”

Razer emphasized that issues surrounding gender identity, like lesbian and gay issues 30 years prior, cannot be disregarded as “just a phase.”

McCreery said that she believes the passing of this bill would create a group of “have and have nots.”

“We would be sending a message to Missouri families who came to talk to us at the committee level week after week after week,” McCreery said. “(Families) are going to have to decide to take their kid to another state for medical care. The only kids that won’t get it are the kids whose parents don’t have the ability to go to a state that provides life-affirming life-saving care.”

McCreery, Razer, and Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, all pointed out the irony of the situation.

Referencing the historical preferences of the Republican Party for limited government, McCreery said the actions that have unfolded in the chamber surprised her.

“This, to me, is the opposite of limited government,” McCreery said.

Over four hours later, Republican backers of the bill still dug their heels in.

“We need to protect our kids; this is what (the) bills are about,” Hoskins said.