Nebraska Anti-Trans Proponents: "Separation Of Church And Legislature Really Pisses Me Off"

On January 10th, Nebraska goevrnor Jim Pillen and Senator Kathleen Kauth announced a sweeping anti-trans bill that targets trans people in bathrooms and on sports teams across the state.

On January 10, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) and State Senator Kathleen Kauth (R) held a press conference announcing Legislative Bill 89, known as the "Stand With Women Act." The sweeping bill functions as both a bathroom ban for schools and government facilities and a prohibition on trans women joining women’s sports teams or entering other state facilities. The press conference featured a host of anti-trans advocates from the sports world, including volleyball player Rebekah Allick, who openly called for Christian nationalism while rejecting the separation of church and state.

“We have a creator who gives us the answers,” Allick said. “We are not the harvesters; we are just the seed planters, and so just to be there for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ is where we can create radical change. The idea of separation of church and legislature is one of the biggest things that personally really pisses me off.” Her remarks were met with laughter from Pillen, Kauth, and the crowd. “We’re missing the whole point. Without our church, without our God, who are we?”

Allick's speech celebrated the bill while accusing the LGBTQ+ community of promoting hate. She claimed that trans women are “in the world and not in God.” Allick went further, suggesting that trans people are “confused” and aligned with “the devil,” likening their experiences to Adam and Eve questioning sex and gender roles. Her speech culminated in claims that trans women are rejecting God and facing condemnation. The crowd, including Pillen and Kauth, responded with applause.

Softball player Jordy Bahl also spoke, sharing a hypothetical trauma she might have experienced as a child seeing a trans woman in a women’s changing room. Bahl acknowledged no specific incidents, instead discussing the backlash she faced for her views. “All human beings are creations of the Lord, everybody’s created and designed by the Father,” she said. “But the difference is that I just don’t think some people have let their hearts receive the love of Jesus Christ. That is where I feel like a big difference is.”

This rhetoric reflects a growing trend among the right. A 2023 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution found that most Republican voters either support or sympathize with Christian nationalism, despite the First Amendment explicitly prohibiting government-endorsed religion. While Pillen and Kauth claimed their bill was guided by “common sense” and “evidence,” their reliance on Christian nationalist rhetoric reveals a different motivation.

Jennifer Sey of the anti-trans clothing brand XX-XY Athletics was also present, repeating debunked claims about biological differences between men and women. Sey, who identifies as a feminist, stood in direct collaboration with Christian nationalist groups, further underscoring the deep ties between far-right ideologies and anti-trans policies.

These beliefs do not exist in a vacuum—rather, they are directly tied to the rise of far-right agendas like Project 2025. Pillen revealed this connection in his speech when he said, “I had the privilege to be down at Mar-a-Lago last night and have dinner with the president-elect. I think there were about 20 other governors.”

President-elect Donald Trump is at the center of Project 2025, an agenda designed to build an administration filled exclusively with loyalists. This plan includes overturning gay marriage, enacting strict regulations on immigration, stripping federal protections for transgender people, and entirely banning gender-affirming care for minors. While Trump has publicly distanced himself from Project 2025 in favor of his Agenda 47, his political allies remain deeply intertwined with the Heritage Foundation-backed megaplan, including Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.

Organizations and individuals tied to Project 2025 have explicitly endorsed this bill. The Nebraska Family Alliance, a far-right Christian group affiliated with Project 2025 and Heritage Foundation-backed anti-LGBTQ+ organizations like the Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom, and Focus on the Family, hosted an interview with Kauth to promote the legislation. During the interview, they disclosed their attendance at the press conference alongside Kauth and the anti-trans athletes.

Trans-exclusionary radical feminist group Independent Women’s Voice also confirmed in a press release that this bill was “inspired” by their own proposed legislation. An ambassador of theirs, Hannah Holtmeier, was present at the event, further solidifying the network of anti-trans coordination.

These attacks on transgender care are not new for Kauth or Pillen. Kauth has previously introduced bills banning gender-affirming care for youth and prohibiting transgender girls from joining girls’ sports teams. She supported these measures during a three-week-long filibuster led by state Senator Machaela Cavanaugh. Pillen has been equally complicit, signing an executive order in 2023 that effectively erased trans people from legal recognition.

This reflects the deep connections among anti-trans groups and their willingness to engage in proto-fascist ideologies to justify bigotry. The extent of these views was made clear in Pillen’s speech, where he implied violence might be necessary to oppose trans people. He stated, “I have three granddaughters. Over my dead body are they going to have to someday wake up and have men, boys in their locker room or compete against them.”