For around two minutes and 40 seconds, Nebraska state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (D) repeated “transgender people belong here, we need trans people, we love trans people” during a Friday morning session in the state’s legislature.
With each utterance her cadence and volume increased, and for a little under a minute she was screaming and waving her hands in the air, according to a video obtained by Fox News digital.
Nebraska senator flips out debating ban on sex change surgeries for minors, screams ‘we need trans people’ https://t.co/9MLR4VVfJL
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 20, 2023
That morning, the unicameral legislature was debating the Let Them Grow Act, which would ban sex change procedures for minors and put a 12-week limit on abortions. The measure was passed and is awaiting Gov. Jim Pillen’s (R) signature to become law. The governor has already expressed his approval for the bill in February, the Omaha World Herald reported.
Jim Pillen speaks during the Nebraska Republican Party general election kickoff at the Republican state headquarters on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Gwyneth Roberts/Lincoln Journal Star via AP)
In a statement the governor said:
All children deserve a chance to grow and live happy, fruitful lives. This includes pre-born boys and girls, and it includes children struggling with their gender identity. These kids deserve the opportunity to grow and explore who they are and want to be, and they can do so without making irreversible decisions that should be made when they are fully grown.
Currently, there are 17 states that have laws restricting or banning puberty blockers, hormone treatment, or procedures for minors. Nebraska’s chief medical officer said exceptions would be made for minors already receiving treatment before the law is enacted.
Cavanaugh called those in support of the legislation “weak” and said they “were bought by the governor.” She also said healthcare workers would leave the state over the abortion provision, which allows for exceptions in the case of rape or incest.
“You have to live with the role that you play in history in the making today,” Cavanaugh said. “You have to live with the fact that you vote to take away people’s rights. You have to live with that. The rest of us have to live with the implications of that, but you have to live with that.”
At least six people were arrested at the state house after the bill was passed.
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