Radio Show Callers Challenge Pillen About His Support For Bill Banning Gender-Affirming Care

From Nebraska Examiner:

By Paul Hammel

April 24, 2023

LINCOLN — Two callers to Gov. Jim Pillen’s radio call-in show Monday asked the Republican governor about his support for a controversial measure that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.

One caller, Jerry from Fort Calhoun, noted that the governor said earlier in the program said that he wanted the Legislature to focus on fewer bills and “high value” measures that impact the entire state.

“How many people does this really affect?” Jerry asked of Legislative Bill 574.

Identify as transgender

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimated last year that 1.6 million Americans, ages 13 and older — or 0.6% of the total population — identify as transgender.

For kids 13-17, the percentage was 1.4%, or about 300,000 kids nationwide.

In Nebraska, it would translate into about 11,800 transgender residents total.

Pillen responded that he feels that one thing all Nebraskans can agree with is that “kids are our future, and we can’t give up on one kid … we need to protect our kids. …”

‘One kid makes a big difference’

“One kid makes a big difference,” Pillen said. “So the transgender bill, from my seat, is very, very simple. It’s important that children can decide when they get to the adequate age.”

Later, another caller, Steve in Lincoln, questioned why Pillen is OK with allowing an “18-year-old or younger” to handle an AK or AR (a reference to semi-automatic “assault rifles” such as an AK-47 or AR-15) or to “go to war.”

The governor responded: “I don’t think they can handle an AK,” adding that to get a pistol in Nebraska you must be 21.

That was a reference to the state handgun buyers permit, which are only issued to those 21 and older. Such a permit is not required to buy a shotgun or a rifle, such as an AK-47.

Can’t drink with a minor

Pillen added that he cannot sit down and have a beer with his 18-year-old son “because it’s not in the best interest of the child.”

“That’s the same thing with the therapy,” he said, referring to gender-affirming treatments or surgeries.

Two other callers supported Pillen’s stance on Legislative Bill 574, with one caller referring to gender-affirming care as “child abuse.”

Secret Chinese police stations

Another caller wondered whether the governor was aware of a national TV report that there was a secret “communist China police station” in Nebraska. That led a subsequent caller, Rhonda from Wahoo, to say that she’d heard a report on Newsmax, a right-wing news site, that a station was in Omaha.

After initially saying he hadn’t heard anything about Chinese police stations, Pillen later dismissed the TV reports, saying his administration wouldn’t be reacting to such reporting.

“We’re going off of the facts and the data we have,” the governor said.

Last week, after reports of the Chinese outlets first surfaced, U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., issued a press release indicating that he would be asking for an FBI briefing on the matter.

Concerning the bill banning gender-affirming care, the main sponsor of the bill, State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, told the Examiner last week that there have been “good discussions” within a committee of fellow senators about possible amendments to LB 574 before it gets to a final vote.

Kauth said a decision on whether amendments would be sought was expected this week.

The bill has advanced to final-round consideration, but it has also spawned a nearly session-long string of filibusters by Omaha Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh and Megan Hunt, who call the bill “hateful” and an intrusion into difficult decisions that should be made by parents and physicians.

Kauth has insisted that the bill is about protecting vulnerable children from life-altering procedures.

Nebraskans want accountability from their elected officials and government. They want to know whether their tax dollars are being well-spent, whether state agencies and local governments are responsive to the people and whether officials, programs and policies are working for the common good. The Nebraska Examiner is a nonprofit, independent news source committed to providing news, scoops and reports important to our state.