Nebraska state legislature votes to advance bill banning sex changes for children

The Nebraska Legislature voted to advance a controversial bill that would ban gender-affirming child care, despite threats from other lawmakers.

On the third day of debate, the bill was voted in progress as members of the LGBTQ community gathered at the Capitol to protest the bill, booing lawmakers as they left the legislature.

House members pleaded with their colleagues to reconsider their support for the bill, even after threats of filibuster throughout the rest of the session.

Omaha Senators Megan Hunt and Machaela Cavanaugh have vowed to filibuster every bill that comes before lawmakers for the remainder of the 90-day session.

At the end of Thursday’s debate, other lawmakers vowed to join that effort, including Omaha Sen. Jen Day and Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad.

The proposal sparked a three-week nonstop filibuster by Cavanaugh, who made good on his promise in late February to filibuster all bills before the Legislature.

He went on to organize this event for those he supported, declaring that he would ‘burn the session to the ground for this bill’.

The awake Democratic lawmaker stood his ground until a deal was struck late last week to push the bill to the front of the debate queue.

Rather than try to buy time to prevent the bill from reaching the floor, Cavanaugh decided he wanted a vote to record which legislators would “legislate hate against children.”

Introduced by Republican Senator Kathleen Kauth, the bill would ban gender-affirming therapies such as hormone treatments, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery for children under 18 years of age.

The purpose of the bill, he said, is to protect young people from undergoing gender-affirming treatments that they may later regret as adults, citing research that says adolescent brains are not fully developed.

It will have to survive two more rounds of debate to pass in the only officially nonpartisan, single-chamber Legislature.

Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk, despite the massive backlash to the bill.

Members of the LGBTQ community gathered at the Capitol to protest the bill, booing lawmakers as they left the legislature.

Democratic Sen. John Fredrickson, who also represents Omaha, broke down in tears when he opened up about coming out to his mother and her death last year.

Senator Jen Daly became emotional as she pleaded with others to help her prevent the legislation from passing, saying, “I look into my children’s eyes when I come home every day and see how hard it is to be a person.”

‘How difficult it is to be a child, let alone have adults debate your own existence on television.

‘I can’t imagine the pain, I want all of you to go to the roundabout and look into the eyes of those parents and tell them that you are voting for this bull knowing that it could potentially kill your child.

“I want you to look at the children on the balcony and understand the implications of what you are doing when you vote green on this bill today.”

Democratic Sen. John Fredrickson, who also represents Omaha, broke down in tears when discussing confessing to his mother and her death last year.

Republican Senator Kathleen Kauth introduced the bill that would ban gender-affirming therapies such as hormone treatments, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery for children under 18 years of age.

The Nebraska Legislature voted to advance a controversial bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors

They are among about 150 bills targeting transgender people that have been introduced in state legislatures this year.

He said: ‘This has been very difficult. I can’t stop thinking about my own parents. My mother, who passed away last year and accepted me.

The bill is being discussed alongside another that would ban trans people from using bathrooms and locker rooms or playing on sports teams that don’t align with the sex listed on their birth certificates.

They are among about 150 bills targeting transgender people that have been introduced in state legislatures this year.

It comes as lawmakers signed their own version of the bill in Georgie, and Governor Brian Kemp said: ‘Today I signed SB 140 into law to ensure we protect the health and well-being of Georgia’s children.

“I respect the many hours of respectful debate and deliberation by members of the General Assembly that resulted in the final passage of this bill.

‘As Georgians, parents and elected leaders, it is our ultimate responsibility to safeguard the bright and promising future of our children, and SB 140 takes an important step in fulfilling that mission.’