Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri has accused Republicans of racism for waging war against wokeness, while she also speaks out against legislation that largely blocks gender transitions for minors.
“As Democrats, we’ve got to push back on the GOP’s ‘war on woke.’ We know it’s rooted in anti-Blackness. We cannot sit idly by as these folks get in front of cameras and yell ‘woke’ at everything. It’s our communities that the GOP is targeting. We have to stand up for us,” Bush tweeted.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) has signed legislation that prohibits providing gender-transition measures — including surgeries, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers — to people younger than 18. Under the measure, the cross-sex hormone and puberty-blocker bans do not apply to youth who are prescribed or administered those substances before August 28.
“We support everyone’s right to his or her own pursuit of happiness; however, we must protect children from making life-altering decisions that they could come to regret in adulthood once they have physically and emotionally matured,” Parson said, according to a press release. “These decisions have permanent consequences for life and should not be made by impressionable children who may be in crisis or influenced by the political persuasions of others.”
Parson also signed legislation to ban schools and colleges from allowing males to play sports designated for females, and vice versa, though the measure stipulates that institutions may permit females to play in sports designated for males if there is no corresponding opportunity available for females. The ban applies to public and private educational institutions.
“Women and girls deserve and have fought for an equal opportunity to succeed, and with this legislation today, we stand up to the nonsense and stand with them as they take back their sport competitions. In Missouri, we support real fairness, not injustice disguised as social righteousness,” the governor said, according to the press release.
Bush opposes the measures.
“It would be nice if @GovParsonMO and the state GOP actually passed legislation that helped the people of Missouri instead of using their time and energy attacking trans people. This is an example of the ‘big government’ these Republicans decry. Protect trans kids,” Bush tweeted.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!