EXCLUSIVE — After transgender rights advocates occupied the Oklahoma Capitol on Monday to protest legislation seeking to ban gender transition surgeries, the author of the bill that sought to limit anyone under the age of 26 from undergoing such procedures is shifting course.
State Sen. David Bullard (R), the author of the bill, said “we are lowering the age” from 26 to 18 in a statement to the Washington Examiner. Known as S.B. 129, Bullard backs a new bill titled S.B. 613 with similar language that would instead prevent people under the age of 18 from undergoing transgender procedures.
“Yeah, so we are lowering the age. It is now going to actually be in Senate Bill 613. And we are lowering the age to 18,” Bullard said, adding the legislation would be heard by lawmakers Wednesday.
The walk-back is notable because while Oklahoma Republicans had proposed other legislation to ban transgender surgeries, Bullard’s initial proposal drew enormous pushback from transgender activists because it sought to block the procedures for adults.
When Bullard’s proposal was filed last month ahead of the start of the legislature’s February session, it vowed to ban physicians in the state from administering or recommending gender-affirming medical care, including puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries for patients younger than 26 years old. If the legislation becomes law, violations would include punishment by an unclassified felony conviction and the possible revocation of medical licenses.
‘TRANS LIVES MATTER’ PROTESTERS TAKE OVER OKLAHOMA CAPITOL OVER PROPOSED NEW BILLS
Bullard also said S.B. 613 will not be cited as the “Millstone Act of 2023,” which was the title given for S.B. 129 and served as a reference to the Bible verse Matthew 18:6: “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Oklahoma is currently considering at least 15 bills that would limit access to transgender treatments that have been championed by Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who called on the legislature to pass the restrictions in his State of the State address Monday night.
“We must protect our most vulnerable — our children,” Stitt said. “After all, minors can’t vote, can’t purchase alcohol, can’t purchase cigarettes. … We shouldn’t allow a minor to get a permanent gender-altering surgery in Oklahoma.”
In a joint news release on Feb. 2, the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal warned any transgender procedure restrictions passed into law would be subject to litigation by the groups.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, counsel and healthcare strategist at Lambda Legal, told the Washington Examiner if Bullard’s legislation became law, it would violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, saying it would “selectively target a population for having no access to this care that is otherwise provided and allow for other people.”
But Bullard contends that the clause “actually protects us to protect kids who are under the age of 18. Because what we’re saying is we’re going to protect them from a surgery that has no beneficial use, has been known to cause massive amounts of harm in multiple studies.”
FYI: this was peaceful.
Security let them in and everyone went thru metal detectors.
At one point, Senators walked from their chamber -thru the crowd – into the House chamber, and there was no physical violence or verbal altercation. https://t.co/SbEJFCU5my
— Nick Camper (@nickcamper) February 7, 2023
On Monday, more than 100 protesters occupied the state Capitol in protest of transgender-related legislation, some calling the measures “genocide” with claims that restricting youth from this type of care could drive more to suicide.
Local media reported that the protest was considered to be peaceful and the Capitol is open to the public. Senators could be seen exiting their chamber and walking through the crowd to get to the House chamber without physical or verbal altercations.
Bullard noted a new provision brought in S.B. 613 would remove the “emergency” status of his proposal, meaning it wouldn’t go into effect as soon as it’s signed by the governor. He cited “research” conducted that shows rapidly removing people of hormones used in transition care would lead to health “complications” and that people receiving such treatment “have to be weaned off over a six-month or so time period.”
“And so we took the emergency off so that it wouldn’t take effect until Nov. 1, and then that means it gives them time to wean somebody’s off, so that’s probably one of the bigger substantive changes,” Bullard added.
A spokeswoman for the governor told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that the threats of litigation will not “deter” efforts to pass legislation barring access to transgender procedures for minors.
“Radical, out-of-state leftwing groups can threaten litigation all they want, but it will not deter the governor from doing the right thing, which is to protect children from getting a permanent, irreversible gender altering surgery and hormone therapies,” said Carly Atchison, communications director for Stitt.
Last year, Bullard introduced a separate piece of legislation that was passed into law to prevent transgender youth from using school restrooms or locker rooms that differ from their biological sex. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit on behalf of three transgender students against the law.
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Oklahoma is one of nearly a dozen other states seeking to heavily impede access to gender transition procedures for youth this year. State lawmakers have been successful pushing similar legislation with its Republican supermajority in the state legislature.
Last week, North Carolina GOP lawmakers introduced a ban on transgender treatment for minors, and Utah passed a ban on certain forms of treatment for minors, joining states such as Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Arizona, which have enacted similar laws.
