Nebraska Votes To Be Crap Place For Trans Kids And Anyone Who Can Get Pregnant To Live
And yet, Republicans wanted it to be even worse
After weeks and weeks of heroic filibustering from Independent State Senator Megan Hunt and Democratic State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh and others, the Nebraska legislature voted on Friday to restrict abortion rights and healthcare for transgender youth.
Because the filibuster was going to make it difficult for Republicans to pass both the anti-abortion and the anti-trans bills, they decided to combine them into one terrible bill, L.B. 574, which passed by a 33-to-15 vote.
Granted, it's not as extreme as what they originally wanted to do. They wanted a six-week ban on abortion and settled for 12, with exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies. They wanted to ban all gender-affirming care and ended up only banning surgeries and allowing puberty blockers and hormones for patients who have a “long-lasting and intense pattern of gender nonconformity or gender dysphoria which began or worsened at the start of puberty” and have had an unspecified number of psychotherapy sessions.
Republicans are patting themselves on the back for this "compromise," but Democrats see it as just the first step towards making things even worse.
Via NYTimes:
“This has the potential to be a back door to a full ban,” said Senator John Fredrickson, a Democrat from Omaha who was among the lawmakers who filibustered for weeks in an effort to block the original transgender bill. “I don’t see this as a compromise in any way, shape or form.” ...
Senator George Dungan, a Democrat, called the bill discriminatory and predicted it would face legal challenges.
“We should not be in the business of telling people what they can and can’t do with their bodies,” he said during the final minutes of the debate that preceded the vote on Friday afternoon. “We should not be in the business of stepping between doctors and patients.” ...
Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, a Democrat who led efforts to filibuster to prevent Republicans from passing their original proposal, said those who opposed limits to abortion and transgender care would continue to fight through the courts and other means. She said that the hard-fought legislative session had galvanized activism in Nebraska.
“I think the only victory in this is that trans people, especially trans youth, are no longer invisible,” she said.
On Twitter, Sen. Megan Hunt wrote "We haven’t lost because we haven’t quit. Tomorrow is another day to fight with love, compassion, and the knowledge that we are righteous in the cause of justice." She also dragged a fellow senator for voting against abortion rights and healthcare for trans youth and having tickets to go see Lizzo afterwards.
“Lol tonight @lizzo is performing in Omaha and Senator Ballard, who just voted for a bill to ban abortion & trans healthcare, is going. They want LGBTQ money They want LGBTQ entertainment They want LGBTQ culture But at they won’t vote to protect LGBTQ lives and safety. 🫠”
— Senator Megan Hunt (@Senator Megan Hunt) 1684532613
Earlier this week, Hunt, whose son is transgender, called out one of her colleagues who complained that she had to miss her grandchild's preschool graduation because of the filibuster, telling the senator that she must hate "her son more than she loves her own family," or else she wouldn't be there. And she was correct.
“NE State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R) complains filibusters of anti-trans bills made her miss her grandson's preschool graduation. Sen. Megan Hunt (I): “You won't come off this bill that hurts my ^{{trans}}^ son. You hate him more than you love your own family. That's why you're here."”
— Heartland Signal (@Heartland Signal) 1684441711
It says something that the women are the hopeful ones here. I'd like to believe that with people like Sens. Cavanaugh and Hunt in the legislature, there is a decent chance that instead of making things worse, Nebraska will reverse course and make them better.
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one of my nieces had a big blowout wedding in wine country at the ripe old age of 21, after she got her some cishet gender affirming top surgery. she and her high school sweetheart spent at least 30K. they lasted less than 2 years.
Meanwhile, the brave GOPers of the Oregon Senate are continuing their walkout to prevent decent protections for abortion rights and gender-affirming care.
This is a common tactic for the Republicans in Oregon, who are unable to win a majority in the leg and somehow consider that a violation of their voting rights. We passed a law in 2022 that will make them ineligible for re-election if they have 10 or more unexcused absences, and many of them have now reached that mark. We will see if it sticks.