Filibusters Grind Anti-Trans Bills In Missouri And Nebraska To A Halt - Here Are The Legislators Standing Up For Trans Kids
Although the pace of anti-trans legislation has been alarming, there have been hopeful stories of resistance. Nebraska and Missouri's legislatures have both come to a halt over Democratic filibusters.
Anti-trans legislation has exploded in 2023 with over 440 pieces of legislation targeting the community being considered. Among these bills are gender affirming care bans that target transgender youth. Though such bans have passed in some majority-Republican states like Utah and South Dakota, we have seen fierce resistance in other states. States like West Virginia and Wyoming have successfully beaten back total gender affirming care bans despite their Republican majorities. Now, a new tactic has emerged in states where Republicans have control: filibustering all legislation and grinding the state government to a halt in order to prevent the bills from ever getting a vote. Senators in Missouri and Nebraska have held back anti-trans legislation for over three weeks now in hopes that Republicans can drop their attacks on trans youth.
The two bills in question are SB49 in Missouri and LB574 in Nebraska. These bills contain provisions that would ban gender affirming care for transgender youth. Things like puberty blockers and hormone therapy would be withdrawn, causing trans youth to medically detransition - an extremely traumatizing process for a transgender person. Given overwhelming medical evidence for this care, such as a 73% lower suicidality in one study and a 40% lower rate of actual suicide attempts in another, these bills amount to legislative malpractice. It is for this reason that Senator Cavanaugh, the leader of a filibuster in Nebraska, stood and demanded that the body not proceed with bills that harm kids, saying "If you try to pass this bill, it will be very painful for this body."
Watch Senator Cavanaugh’s announcement of a filibuster here:
Senator Cavanaugh has held the filibuster stand for three weeks now. As a result, the senate there has slowed to a crawl. She is utilizing tactics such as dropping amendments onto bills and using up all floor hours for debate for every single amendment and bill that comes across her desk. This has angered Republicans, who to this point have not been able to get any bills through and passed this cycle. One senator has even tried to censure Cavanaugh - it remains to be seen when that motion will be heard.
Meanwhile, in Missouri, Senators have taken a similar approach. A group of four legislators: Senators Razer, Beck, McCreery, and Arthur have led the efforts there and refused to cede the floor. This true filibuster ran all the way up until the legislative Spring Break in Missouri. Seeing no chance at passing any legislation, leadership called the break a day early. The Republican sponsor of the bill, Senator Mike Moon, grew angry at his leadership over the decision to cut straight to break rather than merely recess, calling the decision “unbelievable.”
In the days leading up to the filibuster, Senator Razer addressed the families of trans youth that showed up to the hearing: “You are not alone. You have friends in this capitol.”
Not every state has a true filibuster process by which anti-trans legislation can be stopped. Many states do have various ways that Democrats can gum up the works of legislation, however. It takes tremendous courage to take a stand for transgender youth by using these mechanisms. Both of these states have seen enormously impactful testimony from the families of trans people, and it is likely that this testimony made a lasting impact and convinced legislators of the need to pull no punches when the lives of trans kids are at stake. While some legislators may be nervous about using such methods, they have received strong praise in the two states where this has been tried so far. Tweets praising Senator Cavanaugh have gone viral, reaching millions of people and drawing support of national LGBTQ+ orgs. Missouri’s filibuster has made national media. Both filibusters are resulting in an outpouring of support from the LGBTQ+ community and the families of those these legislators are protecting.
Anti-trans medical bans are still moving in several states - you can find a map of these states in my legislative digest from this weekend. There will be many more opportunities for legislators to make a stand and make passing these bills painful and difficult for Republican legislators. Eyes are on Nebraska and Missouri to see how the efforts there progress. Should they be successful, it is expected that this legislative tool may be further utilized as we dig deeper into the legislative cycle. Activists and families of trans youth hope for this kind of resistance everywhere.
I'm thankful for the reps doing this. I wish I'd seen something like this in South Dakota for our trans youth.
Thanks for this, Erin. Helpful to understand the legislative options available and so refreshing to see representatives taking a stand.