The state of Missouri and Kansas City are heading for a showdown over two pending new laws strongly opposed by the LGBTQ community. Senate Bill 49 would charge medical providers for “coercing” anyone under 18 years old to undergo a gender transition, and Senate Bill 39 would ban transgender athletes from competing in female sports.

Governor Mike Parson supports both bills.

“What we’re doing is protecting children, which we have always done in this state, and we’re going to continue to do that,” Parson told Missourinet affiliate KCMO. “What do you do when you’re an adult, you’re an adult. Have at it. (But) you can’t be going out there doing things to children in different areas. I mean, you know, there’s all kinds of regulation. We don’t let the kids smoke. We don’t let them drink. We don’t let them go where they want to go. And for a person that maybe has that done (and afterwards changes their mind), what’s their recourse?”

Kansas City recently passed an ordinance declaring itself a sanctuary city for youths seeking gender transition, with city officials saying they won’t enforce the new state law once it takes effect. Parson said the city has no choice in the matter.

“There’s a lot of things I didn’t agree with that’s been put into law over the last several years, but once it has and the people voted on it, you know, I’ve accepted that…and I’ve got to move forward, he said. “But there’s a way you push back through the legal (process). You just can’t go out there and say ‘hey I don’t like something.’”

Parson is expected to sign both bills into law by mid July. He can also allow them to become law without his signature. The two bills would then become Missouri law on August 28th.

Copyright 2023, Missourinet.