April 20 – 24
TL/DR: The 2-Minute Read
Actions to Take Right Now
- Share Your Story About Playing Sports: We’re looking for stories about how sports, either the sport you played or the life-long lessons and friendships you gained, left a lasting impact on you. Those stories matter and we want our champion senators to elevate your voices as they fight for us in an upcoming public hearing.
- Donate to Fuel This Fight in the Last Three Weeks: PROMO started 40 years ago and we’ve only been able to accomplish as much as we have because of all the support you’ve given. With three weeks left, we’re asking you to consider making a donation because we’re not done fighting — not even close. Are you with us?
- Send Gratitude to Our Champion Senators: Democratic senators have continuously stood up for LGBTQ+ Missourians and our rights. Session ends in three weeks and we want to remind them that we are right there with them as they fight in such an unfriendly environment. We’re asking you to thank the following senators:
- Sen. Doug Beck: 573-751-0220 | Doug.Beck@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Karla May: 573-751-3599 | Karla.May@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Steve Roberts: 573-751-4415 | Steve.Roberts@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Patty Lewis: 563-751-6607 | Patty.Lewis@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Barbara Washington: 573-751-3158 | Barbara.Washington@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Angela Mosley: 573-751-2420 | Angela.Mosley@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Brian Williams: 573-751-4106 | Brian.Williams@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern: 573-751-5282 | Maggie.Nurrenbern@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Stephen Webber: 573-751-3931 | Stephen.Webber@senate.mo.gov
- Sen. Tracy McCreery: 573-751-9762 | Tracy.McCreery@senate.mo.gov
Important Updates to Know
- HB 2536, an egregious anti-trans bathroom bill, passed the House but faced unified Democratic and bipartisan opposition. Given the time constraints of session, it is unlikely to advance in the Senate.
- HB 1663, an attempt to make Missouri’s current trans athlete ban permanent, is set for a hearing on Tuesday next week. While it may not always feel like successfully fighting, this bill is only now in the Senate with little time on the clock. We have a strong strategy to stop this bill, so we’re asking our community to trust us.
- Thanks to the collaborative work of many senators, we stopped a sneaky attack on trans healthcare buried in a bill substitute. We’ll share more in the coming weeks, but it’s worth highlighting the efforts of our champion pro-LGBTQ+ senators to protect the rights of trans Missourians down to the second when it counts the most.
A Deeper Dive of This Week
It has been a wearing and exhausting legislative session, and fortunately there are just 3 weeks left!
We’ve been dealt a significant amount of attacks on our rights as queer and trans people this year, but we suppose the good news is that bills not already heard in committees don’t have much room to get anywhere this session.
This last week though, while the Governor celebrated progress on his own agenda to hurt hardworking Missourians and our communities by swapping the state’s income tax for a greatly expanded sales tax, we celebrated a couple of significant wins that protect our communities.
HB 2536: Harmful, Misguided, and Facing Resistance
On Monday, HB 2536 (Laubinger) was voted out of the House. We were incredibly angered that Speaker Patterson sent this bill to the floor calendar, as yet again a medical doctor — someone who has based their academic career off of the study of biology — didn’t stop a bill that ignorantly defines sex to ban trans people from accessing restrooms in public life.
However, while this bill did pass, this is the first anti-trans bill in this legislative body in which every Democrat voted no. (And in a bi-partisan surprise, Rep. Tara Peters voted no too). We are grateful to the Democratic caucus for standing so vehemently against a bill that not only would dangerously harm transgender Missourians, but attempt to do so under the disguise of protecting women — causationally harming them too. We want to thank our whole community for your tireless advocacy and efforts that have moved many hearts and minds towards understanding this fight.
While this bill passed the House, we know there isn’t enough time for it to get far in the Senate.
A Quiet Attack Stopped in Its Tracks
In the middle of the week, we caught wind of a sneaky attack on trans healthcare buried into a substituted House bill. With the quick collaborative work of many Senators, we were able to remove the attack from the moving bill. We will share more details in the coming weeks, but wanted to highlight the team work and champion efforts by the pro-LGBTQ+ senators to protect the rights and livelihoods of trans Missourians down to the second when it counts the most.
HB 1663 and the Fight for Trans Athletes
Next Tuesday at 8 a.m. in the Senate Education Committee, HB 1663 (Seitz, handled by Hudson) will be heard. As I mentioned, bills just getting hearings are not alarming for us. We’ve diligently fought this bill now for three sessions, and while it may not feel like we’re making progress, the fact that this bill and HB 2033 (Schmidt — sunset removal on the trans healthcare ban) have slowed down significantly from when they passed the House is a great sign. We want to continue equipping our champion lawmakers with your stories to bring your voices into the conversations they’re having with their colleagues.
That’s why we’re asking you to take a few minutes to share with us why playing sports has specifically mattered to you. We’re looking for the positive stories about the game itself or the life-long lessons and friendships that left a lasting impact for you. We know that for those of you who have played on a team, it gave you opportunities that you hope every child has the experience to choose should they want to. And these stories do matter!
We have a thoughtful strategy under the dome to stop this bill and are asking you to trust us with bringing your voices into the conversation this way. We are confident that our champion senators have our community’s backs and won’t let this sunset get stripped back.
It’s why for this reason, sharing your gratitude to our champion senators is also of utmost importance. In such an unfriendly environment, it goes a long way to remind the folks we elected that we’re right there with them. Please use the above information for senators to reach out to them and encourage them to hold the line in the last three weeks.
