(NewsGlobal.com)- On Monday, a group of about 150 “trans rights” activists stormed the rotunda of the Oklahoma state Capitol building to protest Republican-backed legislation restricting chemical or surgical mutilations, the UK Daily Mail reported.
The protesters, who were from Oklahomans for Equality and Freedom Oklahoma, began protesting outside before storming the capitol building, loudly chanting while waving signs like, “You can’t erase us” and “Save Trans Lives.”
State Senate Republicans have proposed two measures curbing so-called “gender-affirming care.”
The protesters demanded lawmakers vote against the bills, one which would prohibit surgical procedures or hormone therapies for those under 18. Another measure, “The Millstone Act,” would prevent doctors from treating or referring anyone under the age of 26.
Organizers of the protest described the legislation as “genocide” and claimed that, if enacted, the measures would drive people to suicide.
According to local media reports, the protest was largely peaceful. Security personnel allowed the protesters to enter the Capitol, which is open to the public. Throughout the protest, state senators could be seen exiting the chamber and walking through the crowd to get to the House chamber without any verbal or physical altercations.
During his State of the State address on Monday night, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt called on the state legislature to present a bill to ban “all gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors in the state,” saying the state must “protect our most vulnerable – our children.”
Stitt said minors, who aren’t allowed to vote, or purchase alcohol or cigarettes, should not be allowed “to get a permanent gender-altering surgery in Oklahoma.” He said he would “not be intimidated by partisan interest groups or make decisions based on groupthink.”
Last year, Governor Stitt signed into law a measure to ban transgender females from competing in girls’ sports or using the girls’ locker room or restrooms.
