Missouri Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin made the motion to adjourn late Wednesday after Democrats spent over five hours filibustering a bill that would ban certain “gender transition procedures,”such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for minors.
The Senate will return to regular business later in March, giving Democrats a temporary win. Democrat lawmakers led by Sen. Greg Razer spent two days opposing the bill, titled the Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, according to The Kansas City Star.
Razer reportedly acknowledged he expects Republican lawmakers in the state will eventually pass the legislation. Some Republicans were surprised the Senate adjourned two days early for its scheduled spring break, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Dem Governor Signs Executive Order Protecting Sex Change Treatment)
“It was not anything that we discussed in our caucus meeting,” Sen. Denny Hoskins told The Star following the early adjournment. “I’m very frustrated. I want to see this bill get passed.”
State Sen. Mike Moon is sponsoring the legislation. “Parents are being misled and children are being lied to. Two young women that I’ve met recently told me that medical personnel told their parents that if they didn’t continue with these procedures, that their children would commit suicide. And both of [these young women] told me that this was the first time that suicide had ever entered their mind,” Moon said.
St. Louis-based Rabbi Daniel Bogard traveled to Jefferson City in protest of the bill, according to The Star. He previously compared the state banning gender transition surgeries for minors to his family’s persecution during the Holocaust, according to a Feb. 28 report from The Washington Post. Bogard’s child transitioned to a boy at six years old.
.@RavBogard claims laws blocking sex change surgeries for children are like the Holocaust? He minimizes the Holocaust by comparing the atrocities of the Holocaust to him supporting surgery to his 6 y.o. son. #moleg @MissouriGOPhttps://t.co/NOopaY5zgx
— Missouri Senate Republicans (@SenateCaucus) March 1, 2023
Missouri is one of many states pushing to protect minors from gender reassignment surgeries and hormonal changes. Utah, Tennessee, Mississippi and others have recently passed legislation banning sex changes for minors.
Razer, Moon and O’Laughlin did not immediately respond to Daily Caller’s request for comment.