Nebraska lawmaker fails again to revive anti-trans bills after repeated attempts

A Nebraska lawmaker’s latest attempt to revive anti-trans legislation collapsed on the chamber floor this week, but not before exposing the precarious political arithmetic that has made the state one of the country’s closely watched battlegrounds over LGBTQ+ rights.

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According to the Omaha World-Herald, State Sen. Kathleen Kauth, a Republican from Omaha and the architect of several recent anti-trans bills in Nebraska, introduced two hostile amendments Tuesday in the Nebraska legislature after her standalone proposals failed to secure debate time. Neither amendment survived.

One would have imposed bathroom restrictions based on a person’s sex assigned at birth in government buildings. The other sought to revive restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender minors by attaching them to unrelated legislation. When Kauth added the latter amendment to a medical cannabis bill, State Sen. John Cavanaugh, the bill’s sponsor, pulled his measure entirely, accusing colleagues of hijacking it, the World-Herald reported.

A spokesperson for Cavanaugh told The Advocate that he stands firmly behind his support for LGBTQ+ people.

Speaker John Arch has declined to schedule some of Kauth’s bills without proof they can clear a filibuster. Republican Sen. Merv Riepe has repeatedly denied her that margin, opposing bathroom restrictions and frustrating his party’s leadership.

“We’re burning time on this particular bill,” Riepe said during debate, according to the World-Herald. “I think it’s been on trial.”

Kauth has vowed to bring the measures back next year.