Texas House gallery cleared after protests against bill to ban gender-affirming care

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The issue of transgender rights brought new conflict at the Texas Capitol Monday, as Texas House lawmakers were scheduled to take up a senate bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.

More specifically, Senate Bill 14 would prohibit trans youth from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapy — care that medical groups say is vital to their mental health — in order to transition, according to the Texas Tribune. Trans kids who are already accessing these treatments for gender-affirming purposes would have to be “weaned off” in a “medically appropriate” manner. The bill would also prohibit transition-related surgeries, though these are rarely performed on kids. The Senate has already passed a version of the bill, and a majority of state representatives — all of them Republicans — support the measure, the Tribune said.

Protests and a parliamentary move changed the plan, and Capitol correspondent Monica Madden reported on the unexpected change as the events unfolded.

As the debate started on Senate Bill 14, Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D-El Paso) raised a point of order as a procedural move in an attempt to block the bill.

While lawmakers were sorting through the move, protesters in the gallery started chanting in opposition to the legislation.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan asked the Sergeant at Arms to clear the House gallery, which is unusual in this case.

KXAN saw some protesters forced out of the hallway outside the House chamber.

Eventually, the Texas Department of Public Safety cleared the protesters out of the Capitol altogether.

While the parliamentary move succeeded in stalling the bill, people on both sides are still gearing up for this debate on a different day.

KXAN reached out to Capitol officials on the incident and are waiting to hear back. We will update this article if we receive a response.