Two gay lawmakers from Missouri — one Republican and one Democrat — are assessing the state's landscape for LGBTQ people after their fellow legislators proposed 48 bills categorized as anti-LGBTQ.
Among those that did not receive enough backing were bills making drag shows illegal and outlawing K-12 public school teachers and counselors from talking about LGBTQ people.
One proposal that did receive enough votes and is now awaiting Gov. Mike Parson’s signature would bar transgender youth from beginning gender-affirming care. After the Democratic Party held the floor in the Senate for a three-day filibuster, legislators changed some of the negative aspects of the bill, adding a grandfather clause for kids currently in treatment and a four-year sunset for a ban on hormone therapy.
The bill passed 108-50, with three Republicans joining Democrats who all opposed it.
Among those Republicans opposing the bill was Lone Jack Rep. Chris Sander, who is gay.
Sander said he tried to speak in opposition to the bills on the house floor, but House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-St. Louis, denied the request.
“I went to the speaker and wasn’t recognized as I was standing at my desk with my hand up for over half an hour,” Sander told KCUR's Up To Date. “I was given an opportunity by the Democrat Caucus to speak at a press conference, and it’s exactly what I told the speaker. Either I can speak on the floor, or I can speak to the press.”
Sander also overcame an effort by the Jackson County GOP to censor him.
The other two Republicans who opposed the bill were House Majority Leader Jon Patterson of Lee's Summit, who is a doctor, and Rep. Gary Bonacker of House Springs.
Kansas City Democratic Sen. Greg Razer said Republicans in Missouri needed a new boogeyman after tackling red-meat issues such as guns and abortion. This time, it was transgender children.
Among bills approved by the Legislature was a proposal requiring kids to participate in sports based on their gender assigned at birth. Razer said that last he checked, only five of the 311,000 Missouri students participating in junior high or high school sports are transgender.
Razer said legislators had legitimate questions about kids with “bigger-framed bodies” competing against girls. Still, he said, the bill takes away some kids’ opportunities to participate how they would like.
“That’s not a girl pretending to be a boy. It’s a boy,” Razer said. “He wants to play with other boys and do the things that all teenage boys do.”
Parson is expected to sign the legislation.
While the 2023 session revolved mainly around transgender issues related to children, there is a sense adults could be next. In April, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sought an emergency rule making it harder for transgender children and adults to access specific medical procedures.
The rule would have required five years of medical documentation of gender dysphoria for an individual to obtain puberty blockers and nine years of such documentation to obtain cross-sex hormones. Bailey withdrew the rule in early May after the legislature approved the ban on minors starting treatment.
Razer estimated 70% of Missourians disagree with him on transgender issues based on recent polling, but hoped that would be closer to a 50-50 split within the next 10 years and could flip soon after.
“I think the trans community is where the gay and lesbian community was about 30 years ago,” Razer said. “We have the playbook in front of us, and we know 30 years from now, people are gonna be embarrassed by this vote.”
