"How dare you use my God for things against my people"
God bless Rep. Pamela Stevenson, a Democrat from Kentucky
Plenty of people lined up to cry foul, but last week Rep. Pamela Stevenson gave an uniquely impassioned speech against SB 150, one of the nation’s most hateful of anti-trans bills. Deceptively titled An Act Relating to Children, the legislation morphed into something incredibly ugly and was rushed to the floor for a vote. The bill, from the Louisville Courier-Journal:
Allows teachers to misgender students
Requires a two-week notice before any lessons on human sexuality, with an opportunity for parents to opt out their children
Bans gender-affirming medical care for trans youths.
Requires doctors toset a timeline to detransition children already taking puberty blockers or undergoing hormone therapy. They would be allowed to continue offering care as they taper a child's treatments, if immediately taking them off the treatment could harm the child.
Bans schools from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age.
Bans schools from talking about sexually transmitted diseases or human sexuality before sixth grade, and requires parental consent in sixth grade and up.
Requires schools to craft bathroom policies that, "at a minimum," will not allow trans kids to use the bathroom tied to their gender identities.
That’s all pretty much a blueprint for how to create chaos and fear among the trans community — and worse. Gov. Andy Beshear, the Democratic son of a Democratic governor, has indicated he will veto this mess.
From Leo Weekly (Louisville’s alt-weekly):
The bill will now go to Gov. Andy Beshear who is expected to veto it. At his weekly press conference in the Capitol, he said he believes decisions about the transition of minors should be between parents and their kids.
“I believe the medical decisions for all of our youth, including our transgender youth, ought to be made by their families,” said Beshear.
But oh! Listen to Rep. Stevenson. She speaks for so many believers: Stop using God to spread hate.
Wow. That is how you do it! That is how you speak truth to power.
A brave voice in the wilderness of Kant-tucky!