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‘Trans Lives Matter’ protesters descended on Oklahoma‘s State Capitol building yesterday, occupying the interior rotunda, to protest against new bills that would ban gender-affirming surgery for young people.
The protesters from Oklahomans For Equality and Freedom Oklahoma started their demonstration outside the building, then moved indoors.
While it remains unclear whether their entry to the building was peaceful, videos show them inside, chanting loudly. The building is open to the public as a tourist attraction.
Their protest was against a collection of proposed new legislation that is being championed by Republican Governor Kevin Stitt.
Some of the bills propose a ban on state funds being used for gender reassignment care or surgery for anyone under the age of 18.
150 protesters chanting Trans Lives Matter inside the Oklahoma State Capitol building yesterday
The protesters from Oklahomans For Equality and Freedom Oklahoma started their demonstration outside the building, then moved indoors
The most restrictive, Senate Bill 129, seeks to ban such treatment for anyone under the age of 26 by punishing doctors who provide those services.
The physicians would face criminal prosecution and would lose their license.
The Oklahoma State Legislature is yet to vote on the laws.
The organizers of yesterday’s event call the legislation ‘genocide’, claiming restricting youths’ access to the the care will rive them to suicide.
Some medical professionals say it will drive doctors out of the state.
In his State of the State address last night, Governor Stitt doubled down on his plans, and called on the state legislature to pass the bills.
‘We must protect our most vulnerable – our children. After all minors can’t vote, can’t purchase alcohol, can’t purchase cigarettes…w e shouldn’t allow a minor to get a permanent gender altering surgery in Oklahoma.
‘That’s why I am calling on the Legislature to send me a bill that bans all gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors in the state! As governor, I will never shy away from calling out right from wrong.
‘I will not be intimidated by partisan interest groups or make decisions based on groupthink.
‘I will continue my responsibility to lead, not follow.
‘I ran for this office five years ago because I was tired of seeing other states succeed while ours got left behind.’
The protesters say youngsters should be able to access such medical care, regardless of their age.
It is unclear how many state lawmakers were at the Capitol yesterday when the protesters made their way inside.
The protesters at yesterday’s rally included students from the local university
It is unclear how many state lawmakers were at the Capitol yesterday when the protesters made their way inside.
The trans protesters chanted and held up signs for news crews
Benjamin Patterson, a trans man who was one of the organizers, told student new outlet OU Nightly he wanted to ‘bring the community together’.
He called the state laws ‘genocide’, claiming it would lead to more trans youths taking their own lives.
Zephyr Cove, another protester, said kids should be able to access hormone replacement therapy ‘as soon as they have a sense of self’.
‘You know that as soon as you have a sense of self.
‘These kids shouldn’t be forced to have to deny that just because the people around them won’t listen to them.’
Last year, Governor Stitt signed a bill into effect that bans transgender females from competing in girls’ sports. The law also bans transgender females from using girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms.
Instead, school students must use the restroom of the gender they were born. The protesters at yesterday’s rally included students from the local university.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said minors who can neither vote nor drink should not be able to receive life-altering surgery
Senate Bill 129, also called The Millstone Act, seeks to ban gender reassignment surgery for anyone under the age of 26. It was put forward by Republican Senator David Bullard earlier this year.
‘We want to make sure that if we’re going to do a procedure like this that is irreversible, then we want to make sure an individual is at their full maturity when it comes to cognitive development,’ he said at the time.
The bill leans on widely-cited research that claims the brain continues developing until a person is 25.
The less restrictive House Bill 101, put forward by State Rep. Jim Olsen, would stop doctors from giving a referral for puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender reassignment surgeries for people under the age of 21.
Senate Bill 252 would prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from receiving gender reassignment surgery, and Senate Bill 250 would prohibit medical officials and entities from receiving reimbursement through Medicaid if they offer gender transition services.
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