The Western Journal We are now living in a bizarre world in which children barely old enough to pick what clothes to wear to school are allowed to make life-altering decisions.
The state of South Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill that would prevent physicians from giving puberty blockers to children under 16 years of age in order to help themĀ transitionĀ to a new gender, but it was not to be.
Unfortunately, the state Senate essentially killed the bill with a 5-2 vote in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, sending it to what is called the 41st day.
The Senate only has 40 working days, so sending something to the 41st day would effectively kill the bill,Ā NBC NewsĀ reported.
āItās gone,ā transgender 17-year-old Quinncy Parke, who lobbied against the bill, said. āI donāt have to worry about it until next year.ā
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota was also against the bill and celebrated the decision in a statement.
āThough supporters claimed House Bill 1057 was aimed at protecting vulnerable youth, it was clearly fueled by a fear and misunderstanding of transgender South Dakotans,ā policy director Libby Skarin said.
āItās time we stop these attacks and the very real harm they cause to transgender youth across our state. Let this be a signal to the South Dakota Legislature that discrimination against a marginalized group is a distraction from the needs of the state and hurts us all.ā
ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio also celebrated the committeeās vote.
āA warning: nothing is ever dead in a legislative session. Stay vigilant on HB 1057. We celebrate and we thank those who fought with us and we stay vigilant so they donāt try to bring it back,ā Strangio said.
A warning: nothing is ever dead in a legislative session. Stay vigilant on HB 1057. We celebrate and we thank those who fought with us and we stay vigilant so they donāt try to bring it back. #NoHB1057
— Chase Strangio (@chasestrangio) February 10, 2020
Republican state Sen. Wayne Steinhauer led the move to kill the bill, calling it a āgut-wrenchingā issue, theĀ Argus LeaderĀ of Sioux Falls reported.
destroying the children of South Dakota because its legislators are chicken shit cowards is not a good trend…. though we see similar lack of spines in Virginia and elsewhere, I’m afraid.