victory!
Tuesday morning around 7:30 am I would've been like Martha and the Vandellas' Dancing In The Street as I headed to my vehicle if I hadn't been so exhausted from being awake all night through the democrat filibuster on The SAFE Act, SB 49.
After a long night of listening to the litany of stories about pets, vacations and all manner of things as democrats held the floor and republicans negotiated with, most likely, Washington University's lobbyist, The SAFE Act was perfected with 23 of 24 republican senators voting yes. It even had 18 senators sign on as co-sponsors just after the perfected version was agreed up and before the vote.
The Third Read & Pass vote in the Senate AND it was first read in the House on Thursday, March 23rd.
What an answer to prayer! God showed up in such miraculous ways throughout this process. HE IS SO GOOD!
thank you!
Before we go any further I want to be sure to say a big heartfelt "Thank You" to our republican senators who each played a role in the passing of the bill.
Senator Mike Moon championed this bill and has been carrying it for the last 3 years. Senators Hoskins & Carter joined him in filing this session. Four others were truly fighting for this bill even before Spring Break, but we couldn't have gotten through the fight without the rest. They all played a part in the victory and they deserve a big pat on the back! It was truly a team effort.
thank you, sponsors!
mike moon
Senator Moon is the CHAMPION of this legislation. He has sponsored this bill for three years. He had a heart for this bill when no one else was even looking and he has consistently stood in the gap for Missouri's kids. We couldn't be more thankful for his heart and persaverence to stand even when he was standing alone.
denny hoskins
Senator Hoskins filed his own version of the bill which was combined with SB 49 through the committee process. Although this was his first year filing it, he was committed and stood strong to fight for what is right throughout this bill's journey through the senate.
jill carter
Senator Carter also filed her own bill as a freshman senator. We are proud that she took a risk in filing such controversial legislation in her first year and we are looking forward to what's to come from her. Her bill was combined with Senator Moon's as well.
thank you for always standing
There were a group of senators who were always fighting for this bill to move forward. They readily answered questions regarding their support and they signed Senator Moon's letter to prioritize this bill after Spring Break. We appreciate their strong commitment to fight for this bill and for never wavering.
bill eigel
Senator Bill Eigel was a strong force for The SAFE Act from the very beginning. He fought at every step for the success of SB 49, including standing and speaking against the ANTIFA anti-protestors at the Missouri Kids FIRST Rally.
rick brattin
Senator Rick Brattin never wavered in his support. He took every opportunity he had to support and move this bill forward.
ben brown
Senator Ben Brown is a freshman senator and he's doing a great job! We are thrilled with his willingness to stand strong on hard issues. He added his signature to commit to make this a priority after spring break and took every opportunity to support the bill throughout the process.
andrew koenig
Senator Koenig made a strong statement over spring break when he committed publicly by signing Senator Moon's letter, that he would commit to make this a priority upon their return from the break. We appreciate your stand, Senator Koenig!
nick schroer
Senator Schroer stood with the other 6 senators in prioritizing this bill after the break. His office was QUICK to respond to our inquiry in the weeks before the bill came to the floor when we asked if he would support the original bill, including puberty blockers and hormones.
thank you, co-sponsors!
After the bill had been negotiated and agreed to, these senators signed on as co-sponsors before the perfection vote. We appreciate their commitment to add their names to the list of supporters & vote for the perfection of the bill early Tuesday morning.
thank you for voting yes
The final vote for passage through the senate was taken mid-morning on Thursday, March 23rd. In addition to all previous senators mentioned, and although the 18 shown above could have passed the bill without additional support, these senators listed below did contribute a yes vote in the final passage.
Senator caleb rowden
senator justin brown
senator lincoln hough
senator mike bernskoetter
senator mike cierpiot
it's not ideal
I'm so thrilled this passed the Senate I can hardly stand still but I don't want to lead you to believe this is a perfect situation. It's not.
Through the perfection process, the bill was changed significantly. The original bill did three things:
- Banned puberty blockers from children under 18 years of age.
- Banned cross-sex hormones from children under 18 years of age.
- Banned gender transition surgeries from children under 18 years of age.
- Consequences for breaking the law considered unprofessional conduct & license to practice is revoked.
The negotiations during the filibuster produced these three additions:
- Four year sunset clause pertaining to the puberty blockers & hormones was added. This means that on August 28, 2027, this provision of the ban will expire UNLESS the legislators in the 2027 session make it permanent. This isn't good. It means we'll have to fight this battle again in the 2027 legislature and if we lose, these drugs become legal again for kids.
- Grandfather clause was added. This allows children who were already on the prescriptions to continue them if they were already using them at the time this law is passed. This isn't too bad and in some cases, is necessary for the safety of the kids. Some of these drugs are very dangerous they are abruptly stopped.
- Cause of action for patients to bring suit against medical professionals if they are sterilized or suffer harm by any of these medical procedures. Patients would be able to sue for unlimited amounts. They would be allowed to bring a suit against a medical professional until age 37 or 15 years after the treatment has ceased if they are found to be sterile.
it's not over
Although I am so very thankful that this has passed, the battle is not over with this bill. It still has to go through the House process, including two committees.
Representative Brad Hudson will be the House handler of this issue and there may be challenges ahead.
We may need your help as this legislation moves forward, so please share this information with your pastor & church friends, your family, neighbors and others who are like-minded in wanting to protect Missouri kids. Ask them to subscribe to the blog or join the FB Group.
thank you! THANK YOU! THAnK YOU!
There aren't words to say enough about what YOU have done by speaking up and showing up when we needed you. We couldn't have accomplished this in this timeframe without your help.
Thank you so very much for joining the battle for our kids with me!
God bless you
So thankful to you for keeping us informed by your blog, emails, zoom calls , and videos as this bill progressed through. A big thanks for organizing the amazing rally at the Capitol to help push this through. I think our Senators heard us . A big thanks to the above Senators who fought and voted for the Safe Act! THANKYOU for going the right thing!