More than 1,500 people braved a blustery cold day to demonstrate in support of LGBTQ civil rights across Missouri on March 1, embracing the theme “We are here to stay.” 

In a state where the only protections from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations are found in just three major cities, the turnout was precedent setting. 

Originally organized two weeks prior by the Missouri Democratic LGBT Caucus to take place in six cities, as word spread, it quickly increased to include 10 more towns scattered throughout the state’s rural areas.

At the state capitol in Jefferson City, and other sites, many of the demonstrators came from the smaller towns within an hour or so drive. Along with the LGBTQ residents were parents, grandparents, and other friends, who came to show their solidarity and support. Among the speakers in Jefferson City, the state’s capital, was KayCee Adams, Miss Gay Kansas City Missouri America, offering encouragement and inspiration to keep speaking out and being visible.

While it was definitely a demonstration, complete with chants and songs, there was an informality, especially at the conclusion, where people who were strangers at the beginning, were becoming friends. 

“The message is, we are not alone,” demonstrator Madelyn Desking said. “We’re not going away.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a lawsuit against Platte County School District for allegedly denying a transgender former student access to bathrooms matching her gender identity, the group announced on Tuesday.

The complaint argues the district’s policies and practices violated provisions of the Missouri Human Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the state’s constitution.

“Forcing transgender students to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their sex designated at birth is not only discrimination but dangerous and causes serious harm to Missouri’s youth,” said Gillian Wilcox, deputy director of litigation at the ACLU of Missouri, in a press release announcing the move.

The student “lives as a female and was living as a female when she was denied the use of the girls’ restroom at her school,” and received “a series of escalating punishments ranging from verbal warnings to out-of-school suspension” for noncompliance with the policy, according to the press release.

When she began using the boys’ restroom after serving a suspension, the student was harassed and threatened with rape, the ACLU of Missouri said. Suffering anxiety and depression, she was unable to return to school and finished her freshman year virtually.

The Movement Advancement Projects tracks laws across the country restricting trans people’s access to restrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identities. These range from statutes defining “sex” in ways that may impact access to Florida’s law that criminalizes the use of “bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in all schools, colleges and government-owned buildings and spaces.”

The ACLU of Missouri is challenging efforts to ban gender affirming care for minors through implementation of Senate Bill 49 and the state attorney general’s attempt to use consumer protection laws for this purpose, joined in litigation by Lambda Legal and the law firm Bryan Cave.

The Republican-controlled Missouri legislature on Wednesday sent bills to the state’s Republican Gov. Mike Parson that will restrict transgender residents’ access to healthcare and prohibit them from participating in school sports.

“It’s an incredibly devastating day for transgender Missourians, for families raising transgender youth, and for all of Missouri,” said Shira Berkowitz, senior public policy director for PROMO Missouri, the statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, in a video shared on Twitter.

Today is a devastating day for trans Missourians, families raising trans youth, BIPOC & trans women of color who will see an increase in violence, and rural trans Missourians with less resources available. Our state government is waging an all-out war on trans Missourians. pic.twitter.com/lkNtmWRHx3

— PROMO Missouri (@PROMOMissouri) May 10, 2023

According to PROMO, Senate Bill 39 will ban “all transgender student athletes from kindergarten through college from being able to play sports on sanctioned school teams that align with their gender identity.”

The law would apply to public, private and charter schools, which risk losing state funding for noncompliance.

SB 49, meanwhile, “bans gender affirming surgery for anyone under 18,” along with “access to transgender affirming care for minors who are not already on a prescribed path for healthcare.”

Additionally, under the law,”Medicaid will no longer be able to cover gender affirming healthcare for children or adults” and “people who are incarcerated will no longer have access to any gender affirming care while they are in state custody.”

Saint Louis Rabbi Daniel Bogard, who is raising a trans son and has been active in advocacy over the state’s anti-trans legislation, condemned the move in a tweet Wednesday.

I hate them so much. And I hate that I hate them. May the grandchildren of the Republican politicians passing these bigoted bills grow up to be ashamed of who their grandparents were. Yimach shemam #ProtectTransKids #SB49 #DarkDayInMissouri

— Rabbi Daniel Bogard (@RavBogard) May 10, 2023