"You Don't Get That This Session Is Over" - Trans Rights Filibuster In Nebraska Continues

Senator Megan Hunt stood in front of the Nebraska senate and declared the session over after Republicans advanced a gender affirming care ban for trans youth.

Senator Megan Hunt speaking to the Nebraska Senate about her intent to continue filibustering.

As numerous states enact bans on gender-affirming care, something special is happening in Nebraska. In recent weeks, Senator Michaela Cavanaugh has gained attention for her persistent filibustering against a gender-affirming care ban, a top priority for the state's Republicans. The proposed ban, dubbed the "Let Them Grow" Act by Nebraska GOP members, would ban such care for individuals up to 19 years old, the age of majority in the state. This ban would also withdraw these individuals from their care, forcing medical detransition.

During hearings, emotional testimonies from families of transgender youth underscored the significant harm such legislation could cause to these individuals and their loved ones. Consequently, Democratic senators, led by Sen. Cavanaugh, have brought the Nebraska legislature to a standstill, with no bills passed this year.

“I will burn this session to the ground,” she warned.

Earlier this year, Senator Cavanaugh joined her Republican colleagues and heard the bill as the committee room was packed with trans youth and their loved ones. Two particular speeches happened back to back that left not a dry eye in the room. You can see Senator Cavanaugh sitting in the top left of this hearing:

Stories like this led to the decision by the Nebraska Democrats to join together and bring the legislative session to a halt.

For the last several weeks, not a single bill has passed in the state. Instead, Senator Cavanaugh has used floor time to speak at length about things like girl scout cookies and Madagascar. Using 8 hours of floor time to filibuster every bill that came in front of her, she declared, “I have nothing but time, and I am going to use all of it.”

After agreeing to a potential deal to thwart the bill, Sen. Cavanaugh permitted a hearing, warning that if the bill advanced, the filibuster would continue throughout the year. During the lead up to the hearing, Senator Megan Hunt, one of the Senators heading the filibuster, declared that the stakes of this bill were personal and announced that her own son was transgender. Despite pleas from their colleagues and Cavanaugh’s continued filibuster threat, Republicans advanced the gender affirming care ban. Responding to this, Sen. Megan Hunt declared that a line in the sand had been crossed, stating, "you really don’t get that this session is over."

Erin Reed @ErinInTheMorn

"You really don't get that the session is over." Senator Megan Hunt says they will filibuster everything, even progressive bills put forward, if Nebraska moves forward with its attempt to ban gender affirming care for trans youth. This is fight.

The Senators vowed to resume the filibuster following the vote.

Republicans around the country have clearly made gender affirming care bans one of their number one priorities. There are nearly 100 such bills moving around the United States out of 450 bills that target transgender people in a myriad of ways. Democrats have attempted to stop these bills in many Republican controlled states through expert testimony, amendments to make the bills less impactful, and threatened court fights. These strategies have been met with limited success - West Virginia’s large exception for “severe dysphoria” and the defeat of Wyoming’s bill in committee are the only two large victories in red states. With 11 states passing such a ban and more on the way, activists have been looking for legislators willing to fight with every tool they have.

The Nebraska Senators have stepped forward in a way that might remind people of Wendy Davis’ famous 2013 filibuster of anti-abortion laws. In many ways, they have gone beyond her filibuster, which lasted 13 hours on the Senate floor in Texas. Senators Cavanaugh, Hunt, Fredrickson, and the rest of the Democrats filibustering in Nebraska have stood for weeks at this point. If the filibuster does stop this bill from passing into law, it will go down in history as one of the most significant victories by way of filibuster ever.

Regardless of the final outcome, the filibuster has made them heroes in the eyes of the trans community.