Senate Bill 14 banning gender-affirming care for children stalls in Texas House

DALLAS - A bill that would block gender-affirming treatments and therapies for Texas children stalled Tuesday afternoon in the Texas House.

The bill already passed the Senate. It is on track to pass the House with majority Republican support. 

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan ordered Texas DPS troopers to clear the House chamber Tuesday just minutes before a controversial bill was kicked back to a House committee.

Just as debate started on Senate Bill 14, protesters started chanting. They were ordered to leave.

But then House Democrats successfully postponed debate on the bill over a technicality.

At the State Capitol Tuesday, a large and boisterous crowd gathered outside the House chamber.

Hundreds of LGBTQ advocates and the parents of transgender kids in attendance as the house takes up a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors in Texas.

Senate Bill 14 would prohibit trans youth from getting puberty blockers and other hormone therapy needed to transition.

Trans kids who already access these treatments for gender-affirming care would have to be "weaned off" in a "medically appropriate" manner.

A majority of state representatives — all of them Republicans — support restrictions that previously passed in the Senate.

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While supporters of the bill testified about what they call an unfair advantage men have over women, Euless-native Mack Beggs spoke from a different perspective. Beggs transitioned to a man but was forced to compete with female wrestlers.

Sitting in the gallery, dozens of supporters of the bill wearing red shirts with the words "save Texas kids." 

Supporters of transgender Texans chanted as they were escorted out just moments before a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors was sent back to a House committee. That move means the debate over the future of bill will now happen later in the week.

Those opposed to the bill claim the legislation violates human rights. 

"People are really just trying to have bodily autonomy,"" said protestor Marti Bier. "They are to make decisions for their own lives and for the government to come in and interfere with that choice of how people want and feel in their bodies. It is really hard, and it's a hard issue to talk about in a legislative sense."

As emotions boiled over, supporters of the bill hurled accusations toward the LGBTQ activists.

"For a minute, they were singing about love and Jesus," said Jonathan Saenz with Texas Values. "But as soon as I walked by with my message of support for kids and common sense, I was met with aggression. I was met with threats, and I was met with real hate."

At least one activist was removed from the capitol after unfurling a banner in the rotunda early on.

Then, came the call from Phelan to remove all protestors from the gallery.

"Well, there's going to be litigation about it as there has been in other states," said David Coale, a constitutional law attorney.

Coale says if SB 14 is ultimately signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, the Biden administration will likely get involved.

"Generally speaking, the challenges of this kind of law have involved the constitution's protection of equal protection. Everyone has to be treated equally," Coale said.

But Coale added the Department of Justice will likely face many roadblocks as the legal challenges play out.

"On the other hand, you have a federal judiciary that is well known in recent years for taking a very conservative history based let's not extend these protections too far, approach this kind of constitutional issue," he said.

The point of order that was raised by a Democrat lawmaker before the outburst had to do with a procedural error.

Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows tweeted that SB14 will be taken up on the House floor later this week.