Missouri Hears 9 Anti-Trans Bills In A Single Day

Today, Missouri is expected to hear 9 anti-trans bills in a single day. The state has become a focal point in a year where anti-trans legislation is outpacing 2023's historic pace.

Today, Missouri will hear 9 bills targeting transgender people on the same day, tying the record of 9 bills heard in a single day in the same state in 2023 known by some as the “day of hate.” Missouri currently leads all US states with 48 bills targeting transgender people proposed in the first 17 days of the legislative cycle. The bills under consideration today target transgender people in all aspects of public life, from bathrooms to books, and could make life significantly more difficult for this population in a state that is already one of the harshest for transgender residents in the country.

Among the bills is a bathroom ban that would be one of the harshest in the United States, House Bill 1674 brought by Representative Mark Matthiesen, which would bring trans bathroom bans into the workplace. The bill states that trans people being allowed to use the bathroom of their gender identity would constitute “a hostile work environment,” and would weaponize the Missouri Commission on Human Rights against the rights of transgender people. If it passes, it would make Missouri one of only three states with an adult transgender ban and the only state to attempt to enforce the ban using a human rights commission.

Another bill, House Bill 2309, would end all transgender legal recognition in the state. The bill, brought by Representative Adam Schnelting, is one of several bills being brought nationwide to end the legal recognition of transgender people, mirroring laws passed in Russia in 2020 and Hungary in 2023. The bill would accomplish this by interpreting gender to only refer to “biological sex,” which the bill defines by a person’s “reproductive system.” All laws and policies around gender, such as drivers licenses and birth certificates, would therefore be changed to exclude transgender legal recognition on those documents.

A full list of bills to be heard today includes:

• House Bill 1520 brought by rep Brad Hudson, which would remove the grandfather clause for transgender people already receiving gender affirming care in the state. The previous gender affirming care ban in the state exempted trans kids who were already on care - this bill would remove those kids from their care.

• Missouri House Bill 1674 brought by Representative Mark Matthiesen, which would weaponize the Missouri Commission on Human Rights to ban transgender adults from bathrooms in the workplace.

• Missouri House bill 1519 brought by Representative Brad Hudson, which would allow anyone working in health care facilities to discriminate against transgender people by refusing to do their job if it involves gender affirming care. This covers nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, lab techs, and more; all would be allowed to refuse to process tests, provide prescriptions, or fill out paperwork if it involves a transgender person receiving gender affirming care.

• Missouri House Bill 2357 brought by Representative Chris Lonsdale, which would ban transgender students from bathrooms matching their gender identity. It would also ban gender neutral bathrooms for transgender students unless they had parental permission.

• Missouri House Bill 2355 brought by Representative Ben Baker, which would also ban transgender students from bathrooms matching their gender identity and is identical in text to 2357, likely because it was one of many “copy paste” anti-trans bills moving around the United states this year.

• Missouri House Bill 2309 brought by Representative Adam Schnelting, which would end all legal recognition for transgender people in the state of Missouri and which could result in drivers licenses and birth certificates being reverted or revoked for “incorrect information.”

• Missouri House Bill 2308 brought by Representative Adam Schnelting which would both ban transgender students from bathrooms of their gender identity and would also potentially do so in workplaces in a manner similar to House Bill 1674 and would also make discrimination on gender identity legal by defining “sex” for the purposes of discrimination in a way that excludes transgender people.

• Missouri Senate bill 770 brought by Senator Rick Brattin which would ban the “teaching of divisive concepts” in schools and would also ban transgender students from participation in sports of their gender identity.

• Missouri Senate Bill 728 brought by Senator Andrew Koenig which would force teachers to out transgender students to their parents if a student “expresses discomfort or confusion” about their gender or asks for a change in pronouns within 24 hours.

These bills will be heard in two separate hearing rooms at 1:00 PM for Senate Bills and 2:00 PM for House Bills. The hearing could go on for a very long time - in 2023 when a similarly large slate of anti-trans legislation was heard, the hearings stretched until 2:30 in the morning.

Local organizations are gearing up for a fight. PROMO Missouri, one of the leading LGBTQ+ organizations in the state, has urged people to sign petitions against the bills and to travel to Jefferson City to testify.

In a statement from the organization, PROMO announced, “We started last year’s legislative session hearing nine anti-LGBTQ+ bills with a House hearing that lasted over nine hours - we’ll do that again tomorrow if necessary to make them listen to their constituents.”