This story was updated to include the status of the bills: May 10, 2023
In the final week of the 2023 Missouri Legislative Session, two dangerous anti-trans bills have passed both houses and are on their way to the Governor's desk. SB 39 and SB 49 set limits on transgender care and student athletic participation. As Bishop Deon K. Johnson wrote on March 21, 2023 in his Statement Opposing Anti-Trans Legislation:
[These anti-trans] bills seek to prohibit the full inclusion of transgender children and youth participation in sports, restrict open education that encourages respectful learning about the diversity of human sexual orientation and identities, and prevent affirming medical treatment for individuals who are transgender.
These bills are not about abstract principles but have substantial and life-threatening consequences for families who pray, worship, and serve in our communities of faith across the Diocese and around the state. We would all be severely diminished as people of faith and citizens of this state if these bills to become law.
I firmly believe that injustice and intolerance against transgendered persons is an affront to God’s will for all people to walk in love as we have been made one with Christ. I therefore stand unequivocally beside our transgender siblings in support of honoring every person’s value and worth. I invite you to join me in opposing any measure, law, or legislation that would discount, disparage, or demean their worth as bearers of the Divine image and likeness.
The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson,
Bishop of The Diocese of Missouri
The Rev. Mike Angell, Rector, & Hannah Shanks, Director of Operations, at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion in University City suggest these action steps:
- Educate your friends, colleagues, and loved ones about what it means to be transgender and why it is crucial healthcare decisions stay between families, patients, and doctors.
- Contact Governor Parson to tell him our government has no right interfering in the medically-sanctioned, lifesaving healthcare decisions of patients, families, and their physicians.
- Holy Communion continues to collect pass-through funds for the interfaith LGBTQ+ media campaign. Thanks to the donations already gathered, we've been able to hire professional media folks to assist with building our materials, gathering high-quality photo and video for social media, and guiding our messaging. To help us fund other to-be-determined actions, please consider donating here.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and action toward protecting trans youth and adults in our state. Visible witness - stickers, shirts, signs, trans and pride flags - all make a huge difference in helping trans people feel valued and visible.
Get resources and information about our LGBTQIA+ Ministry in the Diocese of Missouri.