Missouri Republicans Refuse To Let Gay Man Speak Against Anti-Trans Bill, Silence Opposition

It happened again. Representative Chris Sander, a gay Republican, raised his hand to speak on a bill. Republicans instead chose to silence opposition and did not allow him to speak.

The Republican Party has repeatedly barred discussion on LGBTQ+ bills this year. Despite holding supermajorities in numerous instances, they have frequently silenced oppositional voices. Notably, in Oklahoma, GOP members censured Representative Mauree Turner, a Black, nonbinary representative. In Kentucky, an attempt was made to hold a hearing without any Democratic representatives. This was announced during a lunch break when microphones were turned off. A recent incident in Montana saw transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr ejected from the house floor and silenced simply for speaking to the harm these bills cause, preventing her from commenting on anti-trans bills. Today, in Missouri, the GOP restricted Democrats to 15 minutes of debate against a bill prohibiting gender-affirming care for trans youth. During the vote, gay Republican Rep. Chris Sander was denied the opportunity to speak against the bill despite signaling his intent, keeping his hand raised for the entirety of the vote.

The bill itself, SB49, bans gender affirming care for transgender youth. Though it grandfathers youth already receiving treatment in, there will be many trans youth on waitlists who will be entirely shut out. It also bans Medicaid coverage for transgender adults and surgery for transgender incarcerated individuals. All of these provisions are separate from the ongoing attempt by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s decision to limit most care for transgender adults, banning many of them from transitioning - that decision is currently blocked in court awaiting a final decision.

In a scene eerily familiar to many people who have paid attention to floor debates over anti-trans legislation, Missouri House Speaker, Rep. Dean Plocher, enacted a motion that restricted Democrats to a meager 15 minutes of total discourse on the bill. This appeared to be a calculated move to expedite the bill's passage with minimal opposition. House Minority Leader, Representative Crystal Quade, used some of her time to denounce this tactic, arguing it silenced representatives' speech and, in effect, muffled the voice of the citizenry they represent. This contention closely mirrors a recent incident in Montana involving Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who faced silencing and exile when the house speaker there denied her the right to speak.

That comparison would quickly grow stronger as a Republican, Representative Chris Sander, raised his own hand to speak. Local reporter Emily Manley reported that he was never called on despite continually keeping his hand raised. Because Republicans have a choice as to whether they acknowledge their own party member, they opted to not do so.

You can see Rep. Quade’s initial criticism of the GOP’s silencing tactics and Rep. Sander’s hand raised in this video:

This is not the first time Rep. Sander has come under fire from his own party for his stance on LGBTQ+ issues. Earlier in the year, the Jackson County Republican Party considered censuring him for his stance on LGBTQ+ issues after he stated that marriage is between “two individuals” rather than “a man and a woman.” After the threat to censure him gained national attention, they dropped their threat. The Advocate reports that he could still be censured in the future over this issue.

After the hearing was over, Rep Sander stood up with Democrats in a press conference to discuss what had occurred. In this conference, he stated, “I’m not questioning being gay. I’m questioning being a Republican” in response to his lack of recognition.

The Democrats who were able to speak with the exceedingly short amount of time slammed the bill. Representative Doug Clemens stood to talk about the affect this bill would have on a trans family member, stating, “This is family. This is my brothers child… I can’t allow this body to take the rights away from someone being themselves.”

Representative Barbara Pfifer stood and likewise spoke about her own trans family member, “Anytime you start persecuting one group of people, horror follows.”

Representative Ian Mackey, a gay Democrat, spoke on the bill and expressed disgust on how colleagues continued to “ask [him] in the halls “how are you doing” like it is just another Wednesday morning,” and how they were surprised when he stated that he wasn’t doing great due to bills like these.

Republicans ultimately passed this bill as well as a sports ban for trans people. Both bills will head to the Governor’s desk. The entire time, Rep. Sanders was not allowed to speak and Democrats were given tiny allotments that stifled all debate. Constituents who elected their representatives to speak on the important bills were not allowed to have their voices heard. Republicans seem to be leaning into doing this in state legislatures across the United States. Although they claim to be champions of free speech, their actions indicate otherwise.