Missouri lawmakers bar trans athletes in women's sports, ban gender treatments for minors

The Republican-dominated Missouri legislature on Wednesday approved measures to bar transgender athletes from women's sports and to halt gender-related treatments for minors.

Through one bill, the state would bar minors from receiving hormone treatments, puberty blockers, or gender surgeries, according to the Associated Press. The other addresses athletics.

Minors currently receiving the treatments will still be able to do so.

Both measures will expire in 2027 should they become law. They now head to the desk of Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who is likely to approve both.

Should Parson consent to the measures, the state would join 17 other states in passing restricting on transgender-related treatments for minors, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation notes. Another 12 are currently mulling comparable bans.

More than 20 have passed restrictions on transgender participation in sports, per the AP.

Kansas City, meanwhile, is mulling a resolution to declare itself a sanctuary location, meaning it would not pursue legal action against individuals seeking or providing gender treatments.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.