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Tag Archives: General Assembly

Campaign Finance: keep it coming

12 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance

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Amendment 4, campaign finance, General Assembly, governor, HJR 3, initiative petition, Mike Kehoe, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, Missourians for Fair Governance

At the Missouri Ethics Commission for the opposition to the restrictive requirements on initiative petitions required by Amendment 4 (HJR 3) on the August ballot:

C232522 06/12/2026 Missourians for Fair Governance Protect Majority Rule Missouri PO Box 2187 St Louis MO 63158 6/12/2026 $343,000.00

[emphasis added]

Governor Mike Kehoe (r) and the right wingnut republican controlled Missouri General Assembly have a plan.

It’s not a good one.

No on Amendment 4.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: but wait, there’s even more (June 5, 2026)

About that ‘inconvenient’ redress of grievances thing… (June 5, 2026)

Campaign Finance: they ain’t playing around (June 8, 2026)

Campaign Finance: “Welcome to the party, pal”

12 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance

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Amendment 3, Amendment 4, Amendment 5, campaign finance, General Assembly, gerrymandering, HB 1, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, Protect Freedom and Democracy, Redistricting, referendum

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for a campaign committee opposing Amendment 3, Amendment 4, Amendment 5 and redistricting/gerrymandering:

C264301 06/12/2026 Protect Freedom and Democracy Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement Action 438 N Skinker Saint Louis MO 63130 6/12/2026 $150,000.00

[emphasis added]

Protect Freedom and Democracy – Active
MECID: C264301
620 E Armour Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64109
[….]
Supported/Opposed Ballot Measure
Measure Election Date Subject Political Subdivision Support/Oppose
Amendment 3 11/3/2026 Anti-Abortion Amendment Statewide Oppose
Amendment 4 8/4/2026 Anti-Majority Rule Statewide Oppose
Amendment 5 8/4/2026 Everything Tax Statewide Oppose
HB1 Veto Referendum 11/3/2026 Repeal the congressional redistricting map passed in HB 1 Statewide Oppose

[….]

It’s a new committee:

Welcome to the party.

Campaign Finance: they ain’t playing around

08 Monday Jun 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance

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Tags

Amendment 4, campaign finance, General Assembly, governor, HJR 3, initiative petition, Mike Kehoe, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, Missourians for Fair Governance

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C232522 06/08/2026 Missourians for Fair Governance Missouri Association of REALTORS 2801 Woodard Dr Ste 101 Columbia MO 65202 6/8/2026 $2,000,000.00

[emphasis added]

Pretty soon you’re talking about some serious money….

Missourians for Fair Governance – Active
MECID: C232522
Committee Type: Campaign
100 E High St Floor 1
Jefferson City, MO 65101
[….]
Supported/Opposed Ballot Measure
Measure Election Date Subject Political Subdivision Support/Oppose
Unknown at this time 8/6/2024 To protect Missourians’ power of the petition for citizen governance Statewide Support
– Oppose HJR3 11/3/2026 Initiative from the legislature to make constitutional changes to the initiative petition process. Statewide Oppose
[….]

[emphasis added]

Because:

Governor Kehoe Places Four Constitutional Amendments on August Primary Election Ballot
May 22, 2026

[….]

….Amendment 4 – if approved by voters, modifies current requirements that a simple statewide majority of voters may approve initiative petitions to amend the constitution, requires a majority of voters in each congressional district to approve initiative petitions to amend the constitution….

No on Amendment 4.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: but wait, there’s even more (June 5, 2026)

About that ‘inconvenient’ redress of grievances thing… (June 5, 2026)

Campaign Finance: but wait, there’s even more

05 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Amendment 4, campaign finance, General Assembly, governor, HJR 3, initiative petition, Mike Kehoe, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, Protect Majority Rule Missouri

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission, in opposition to the restrictive requirements on initiative petitions required by Amendment 4 (HJR 3) on the August ballot:

C253757 06/05/2026 Protect Majority Rule Missouri Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action 2725 Clifton St Louis MO 63139 6/4/2026 $100,000.00

[emphasis added]

Okay.

[….]
What Is Amendment 4?
Amendment 4 is a measure on Missouri’s August 4, 2026 ballot that would change the rules for citizen-led initiative petitions — the process Missourians have used since 1908 to put laws and constitutional amendments directly on the ballot. Today, those measures pass with a simple statewide majority. Amendment 4 would require a statewide majority plus a majority in EVERY Missouri congressional district.

The catch: politicians exempted themselves. Measures the legislature refers to the ballot still pass with a simple majority. Only initiatives that come from citizens face the higher bar.
[….]

No on Amendment 4.

Previously:

About that ‘inconvenient’ redress of grievances thing… (June 5, 2026)

About that ‘inconvenient’ redress of grievances thing…

05 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Amendment 4, campaign finance, General Assembly, governor, HJR 3, initiative petition, Mike Kehoe, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, Protect Majority Rule Missouri

At the Missouri Ethics Commission, in opposition to the restrictive requirements on initiative petitions required by Amendment 4 (HJR 3) on the August ballot:

C253757 06/03/2026 Protect Majority Rule Missouri Health Forward Foundation 2300 Main St, Ste. 301 Kansas City MO 64108 6/1/2026 $300,000.00

[emphasis added]

Protect Majority Rule Missouri – Active
MECID: C253757 Committee Type: Campaign
[….]
Supported/Opposed Ballot Measure
Measure Election Date Subject Political Subdivision Support/Oppose
Amendment 4 11/3/2026 Changes to the initiaitve [sic] petition process Statewide Oppose
[….]

Because:

Governor Kehoe Places Four Constitutional Amendments on August Primary Election Ballot
May 22, 2026

[….]

….Amendment 4 – if approved by voters, modifies current requirements that a simple statewide majority of voters may approve initiative petitions to amend the constitution, requires a majority of voters in each congressional district to approve initiative petitions to amend the constitution….

It’s in that detail.

Vote NO on Missouri Amendments 4, 5 this August
Posted on June 4, 2026

By SHERI GASSAWAY
Missouri Correspondent

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has scheduled a vote on two amendments this August that would be detrimental to the state’s working families, the poor and democracy as a whole.

Amendment 5 would give lawmakers new power to expand sales and use taxes to replace the state’s 4.7 percent income tax, and Amendment 4 would create a higher bar for passage of citizen-led constitutional amendments. The measures will appear on the Aug. 4 primary ballot.

THE MISSOURI AFL-CIO is recommending a “NO” vote on Amendments 4 and 5 on the Aug. 4 ballot. Amendment 5 would grant lawmakers new power to expand sales and use taxes to replace the state’s 4.7 percent income tax, and Amendment 4 would make it more difficult to pass citizen-led constitutional amendments.

[….]

Amendment 4 would require any constitutional amendment placed on the ballot through the citizen-led initiative petition process to pass in all eight of Missouri’s congressional districts. Currently, those amendments need only a statewide majority pass.

“We would in effect, be giving one district veto power over another district,” Hummel said.

The initiative petition process allows citizens to bypass the legislature and propose constitutional amendments directly to voters. It has been used recently to increase the minimum wage and approve paid sick leave, legalize recreational marijuana and to protect abortion rights.

In the last year, the Republican-controlled legislature has overturned the voter-approved paid sick leave initiative and repealed a voter-approved 2024 constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights. Efforts are also underway to weaken the state’s newly passed minimum wage laws.

[….]

“…We would in effect, be giving one district veto power over another district…” Or the majority of the citizens of the state.

[….]
What Is Amendment 4?
Amendment 4 is a measure on Missouri’s August 4, 2026 ballot that would change the rules for citizen-led initiative petitions — the process Missourians have used since 1908 to put laws and constitutional amendments directly on the ballot. Today, those measures pass with a simple statewide majority. Amendment 4 would require a statewide majority plus a majority in EVERY Missouri congressional district.

The catch: politicians exempted themselves. Measures the legislature refers to the ballot still pass with a simple majority. Only initiatives that come from citizens face the higher bar.

[….]

Who Put This On The Ballot?
Politicians, not citizens.
Amendment 4 was referred to the ballot by the Missouri General Assembly. It was not the product of a grassroots petition. The same body that wrote it then exempted itself from its rules — meaning politicians can still pass referred amendments with a simple majority, while citizen-led initiatives must clear the higher bar. That’s not reform. That’s rigging.
[….]

No on Amendment 4.

Cass County Democrats – Back to Blue Dinner – Belton, Missouri – April 25, 2026

26 Sunday Apr 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Democratic Party News, Missouri General Assembly, Missouri House, Missouri Senate

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Tags

Ashley Aune, Back to Blue Dinner, Cass County, Democrats, General Assembly, Jessica Podhola, Jon Pennell, Liz Davenport, Loree Voight, missouri, Patty Lewis, Russ Carnahan, Staci Czar, Taigen Plummer, The Back Forty, Will Westmoreland, Yvonne Reeves-Chong

Cass County Democrats held their annual Back to Blue dinner in Belton, Missouri yesterday evening. Well over 100 individuals gathered for dinner, conversation, speeches, and to recognize individuals and groups for their party and community activism over the past year.

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening:

Jessica Podhola.

Russ Carnahan, Chair, Missouri Democratic Party.

Loree Voight, Chair, Cass County Democratic Central Committee.

Ray James, Chair, Johnson County Democratic Central Committee.

Yvonne Reeves Chong, Vice-chair, Missouri Democratic Party.

Legislative district candidates:

Jon Pennell, the Democratic Party candidate in the 55th Legislative District.

Staci Czar, a Democratic Party candidate in the 56th Legislative District.

Liz Davenport, the Democratic Party candidate in the 62nd Legislative District.

Taigen Plummer, the Democratic Party candidate in the 54th Legislative District.

Everyday Hero Awards, accepted on behalf of their caucus colleagues in the Missouri General Assembly:

Senator Patty Lewis.

Ashley Aune, House Minority Floor Leader.

The 2026 Harold L. Caskey Cass County Democrat of the Year:

Diane Yeamans

Keynote Speaker, Will Westmoreland, The Back Forty:

Will Westmoreland.

HB 2075: Who checks?

06 Friday Mar 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

54th Legislative District, bathrooms, bigot, Bigotry, bigots, Brandon Phelps, General Assembly, HB 2075, right wingnuts, transphobia

Everybody has to pee.

So, is somebody going to stand at the restroom door and have you pull down your pants before you can enter? Just asking.

Brandon Phelps (r) [2025 file photo].

HB 2075
Establishes provisions for restroom designations in all public buildings
Sponsor: Phelps, Brandon (054)
Proposed Effective Date: 8/28/2026
LR Number: 4434H.01I
Last Action: 03/02/2026 – Public Hearing Completed (H)
Bill String: HB 2075
[….]

The bill summary:

HB 2075 — SINGLE-SEX ACCESS TO CERTAIN FACILITIES
SPONSOR: Phelps

The bill defines “biological sex” as the biological indication of male or female in the context of reproductive potential or capacity, whereas “gender” is defined as the psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural aspects of being male or female. The bill also defines the terms “school”, “institution of higher education”, “single-occupancy facility”, “multi-occupancy facility”, “family facility”, and “public building”.

This bill requires multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, and shower rooms found in public buildings, schools, and institutions of higher education to be designated with clear signage for the exclusive use of person of the male biological sex or female biological sex. A member of the male
biological sex will not be permitted to use a multi-occupancy facility that has been designated for the exclusive use of persons of the female biological sex, and a member of the female biological sex will not be permitted to use a multi-occupancy facility that has been designated for the exclusive use of persons of the male biological sex.

The bill specifies that a multi-occupancy facility must not be designated for use by persons of a particular gender or genders instead of, or in addition to, persons of a particular biological sex. However, this provision does not prohibit family facilities. Schools are prohibited from allowing members of the male biological sex and the female biological sex from sharing overnight accommodations in any setting where students are staying overnight, including school trips.

This bill requires policies adopted in accordance with these provisions to include accommodations for persons who request them, to include the use of single-occupancy facilities.

[….]

Failure to comply with the provisions of this bill will result in the revocation or withholding of state funding for the entity operating a public building, school, or institution of higher education.

[….]

Some of the submitted testimony:

I strongly support the initiative. We need to make sure that the deviants who want to intrude into opposite-sex restrooms are held accountable.

“Cross your legs and hold it” as a cultural norm…

Missouri is a common sense state that understands that men should not be in women’s restrooms and that women should not be in men’s restrooms. We must take action to end the support for certain individuals delusions that jeopardize not only the public conscience, but especially the physical and emotional safety of normal women across the state. I have personally seen people made uncomfortable by the intrusion of their private spaces by members of the opposite sex, and this is totally unnecessary. There is no reason for this legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, to betray their constituents by allowing this bill to die. Thank you.

Quit treating these people like objects and not humans. There have been Family bathrooms in lots of buildings including airports and trains stations. All go in them. It wasn’t a problem until MAGA decided it was. Why don’t you focus on the fact families and Seniors can’t afford to feed their families or themselves. Housing is too expensive. Health care gets rougher every day. Leave all the people you racists hate alone. We are a country of immigrants and you are the ones who make it seem bad. Why?? ? Get all felons out of this country including those holding Public office.

“Trans Liberation Now”

The Missouri Catholic Conference supports HB 2075, as it would ensure that fundamental safety and privacy standards for both men and women are guaranteed in certain spaces that, because of their nature, should not be shared with persons of the opposite sex. Designating those spaces as sex separated would protect the God-given dignity of both males and females, provide clarity, uphold justice and the common good, and ensure that our laws comport with a proper understanding of human nature. The Missouri Catholic Conference urges the committee to vote “DO PASS” on HB 2075.

Dayam. We have unisex restrooms in our house.

Every single human being should have the freedom to use the restroom without being harassed. As long as they’re neat and wash their hands, it shouldn’t matter what bathrooms Transgender people use. Stop trying to regulate people’s bodily functions or to be the genital police.

I support this bill because As a society, we should NOT cater to the transgender crowd. They are lost individuals in society and tremendously need the Love of Christ in their life and read what the Bible says. Especially in our schools. Our youth in particular, are so persuasive and this kind of behavior should not be tolerated in our schools. A boy is a boy from birth that becomes a man for the rest of his life and a girl is a girl from birth that becomes a woman for the rest of her life!

Probably not attributable to Gandhi. But you get the point

Once again, Missouri politicians have no business telling grown adults in higher education which bathroom they can use. Education and college should be for everyone willing to do the course work. These practices of discrimination are clearly an attempt to erase transgender people from Missouri and make it harder for them to get decent jobs. [….]

Missouri families are under real financial pressure. Healthcare costs keep rising, grocery bills are stretching household budgets, and tens of thousands of Missourians still do not have reliable access to primary care. At a time when these challenges should be the focus of this legislature, HB 2075 directs state attention toward regulating restroom designations in public buildings. This bill addresses no documented crisis, creates new compliance costs for schools, libraries, municipal offices, and small businesses, and risks years of expensive litigation for the state.

Missouri lawmakers should be focused on lowering prescription drug costs, protecting Medicaid coverage for working families, and expanding healthcare access across the 114 counties facing provider shortages. HB 2075 moves us away from those priorities and spends taxpayer resources on an issue that does nothing to improve the daily lives of Missouri families. For these reasons, I urge the committee to oppose HB 2075 and focus instead on legislation that addresses the economic and healthcare challenges Missourians face every day.

i’m a middle-aged white guy and i think our government needs to start treating trans people with respect and equal rights. way overdue!! the reason they are treated so poorly in america has everything to do with how shady our government is and nothing to do with them and their existence or how they live their lives. they are no threat to men, women, or children – and they don’t deserve to live in fear.

I believe we share values to protect people against harm. I don’t want people attacked or harassed in bathrooms.

However, I believe that this bill will do more to expose people to harm than to protect people from it. Crime statistics do not support a high rate of violence by transgender women against cisgender women (i.e., the sort that seems feared by continuing to allow transgender women to use the women’s bathroom).

In contrast, there is very strong evidence for violence by cisgender men against transgender women (i.e., the sort that we could expect by forcing transgender women into men’s bathrooms). People that are transgender are 4 times as likely to be victims of violent crime, and cisgender men are by far the most common perpetrator against transgender women.

Many people that are transgender “pass” in public as their identified gender, and this helps avoid that exposure to violence. By forcing people that are transgender to use their “biological sex” bathroom, we are also forcing them “out” to coworkers and strangers every time that they have to use the facilities, thus exposing them to more potential for violence.

We all have to pee.

Discrimination pure and simple.

This is a ridiculous overreach of government that puts trans people at risk and ostracizes them needlessly.

The argument that it will keep men out of the ladies’ room is 110% incorrect because it will force trans men into using restrooms that they wouldn’t choose for themselves. It will actually make it more common for male-presenting folks to walk into the women’s restroom, thereby making it easier for predatory cis-men to enter and assault women and children.

This bill does nothing but hurt a small group of people living in the state of Missouri. If it were really about protecting the children, there’d be free school lunches, mandatory vaccines, and let trans people live their lives. There is no good reason to target trans people, and that’s all this is.

This bill removes local control and does more harm than good. People already know which bathroom works for them.

It all ends up in the same place, too.

Trans people, statistically and historically, are one of the safest groups to be around, especially when it comes to safety of women. Women are more likely to be assaulted in a church than in a bathroom with a Trans person. I am highly bothered by my state using resources to submit three bills on a non-issue than working towards anything that actually impacts Missourians such has housing affordability or rural development. Or even measures to help with drugs.

Abhorrent bigotry. Please stop it. As a Missouri resident I am embarrassed this is even being considered.

As a cisgender woman, I know – as does the general public – that there is no danger or risk for anyone EXCEPT for transgender, gender expansive and intersex people when states implement bathroom bans.

You are not protecting women. You are not protecting children. You are simply pushing the already most marginalized and publicly persecuted group of American human beings further and further into the shadows.

What are you doing to stop cisgender from from raping children and women and transgender people? Focus on actual issues instead of being puppets for the administration. Have some humanity. People need to use restrooms – you don’t just detransition overnight you’re leaving them in an impossible situation.

Finally, you put extra people at risk. There are plenty of cisgender people walking around who often get mistaken for the opposite gender. These are simply men with feminine features or vice versa. By implementing divisive bans, you put a much larger population at risk.

As a woman in a relationship with another masculine-presenting woman, this bill puts my CISGENDER partner in extreme risk. She already has to deal with regular harassment from the public, there is no need for a useless law to make this even worse. I have so many amazing trans friends too. If they can’t safely use public facilities because they will get harassed by going to the facility for their assigned at birth gender, they would no longer be able to do their jobs, travel safely, enjoy public events, and so much more.

You also alienate people from other states who will now place a travel ban on Missouri.

No one should police others’ bodies. And our government has no business policing my body or anyone else’s. If I’m a short haired flat chested woman will I be questioned on my bathroom choice? Who gets to decide who looks feminine enough?

Trans people have been using public bathrooms for decades without incident. Most people have probably shared a public restroom with a trans person at some point and never realized it. There is no evidence that allowing trans women to use women’s bathrooms leads to assaults or safety risks.

A little research shows Transgender and gender-nonconforming people face high rates of harassment and violence in public restrooms. According to the Williams Institute (2013), 70% of trans people surveyed had been denied access, harassed, or assaulted in a restroom.

Data from Transequality.org shows that 68% of transgender people have been verbally harassed and 9% physically assaulted while using a public restroom. Eight percent have developed kidney or urinary tract infections from avoiding restrooms due to fear.

It’s not just trans women. Many cisgender women who don’t conform to gender norms—such as women with short hair, muscular builds, or masculine clothing—report being questioned or harassed in women’s restrooms.

Stop this nonsense.

These bills are an absolute waste of taxpayer money, and are harmful to our most vulnerable population.

I’m sorry I can’t put this more eloquently, but what are we doing here? Your president is starting wars and making life less safe and more expensive for the average Missourian, yet you’re spending your time and energy continuing to attack a marginalized minority? This is done under the guise of protecting women and girls, yet I am not seeing any investigations or consequences on the files detailing actual sexual abuse and human trafficking of underage girls by your president’s best friend, cabinet members, and seemingly the man himself. As a mother of an 11 year old girl, I would much rather her be around a trans or non-binary person and would trust her alone with them much more than I would anyone in charge right now. This is a blatant corruption of power and I am sick of my taxpayer dollars being wasted on this nonsense.

Stop being a bigot. Trans people just want to pee. This does nothing to protect women and anything that would help women, you would vote against. History will judge you harshly for your cruel attacks on transgender Americans, an already vulnerable group.

To those who are not directly affected by these decisions, I ask you to pause and really think. Just because something does not impact you or your family personally does not mean it doesn’t impact real people. Human beings. People who deserve to live freely and safely in the state they call home.

No one should have to worry that decisions made by people who don’t understand their lives, their needs, or their realities could put their safety at risk. Policies are not abstract. They affect bodies, dignity, mental health, and in some cases, lives.

Please choose empathy. Please choose humanity. Please think about the weight of the decisions being made and the real consequences they carry. These are people who simply want to live in peace and be left alone.

Be the bridge where division has been created. We all deserve a safe space to exist.

Bathroom bills legislate a promblem that isn’t a real problem. This is a waste of resources and time. Policing of bathrooms does not protect anyone. It only endangers those who look different. I, a cis woman, do not feel safer with legislation like this being put forth. It weaponizes a person appearance and emboldens those with those with prejudice against those who may not fit certain beauty standards as well as makes it impossible for those who have transitioned to use the bathroom. I don’t want some MAGA weirdo policing me or my young neice asking what’s in her pants because her hair is too short or is a little taller than most, or her voice is a little deeper than others, or she power lifts, etc. Y’all are trying to make trans peoples lives so hard legislating against such a small group of people who just want to live their lives. Trans people should be able to use the bathroom without the fear of some
weirdo or person on a power trip policing them. I wish you had this same energy for Trump and those friends of the Epstein class whom actually hurt women and girls. Let trans people live!

I am a straight cis woman who is 6 foot tall, wide shoulders, I don’t wear makeup often, I don’t dress up, my general choice will always be jeans, t shirt, and tennis shoes.

Recently the obsession with genitals has escalated rapidly, our representatives are pushing bill after bill to target marginalized and already endangered humans who are just trying to go about their lives in peace.

Up until last year I had no fear of men in women’s restrooms, that was before a woman assumed I was a trans woman, went out and told her partner, and suddenly I hear heavy footsteps, someone bangs loudly on the stall walls and started screaming, “faggot!! Get out here and face me!” Along with other
slurs and threats. I didn’t know he was meaning me until I exited the stall, afraid of what was going on. He was red faced and seething, probably 6ft 3in tall, big guy. I told him in a shaky voice I was a womanand he needed to leave. He did. But only because an employee had gone to get a manager.

I was afraid.

I have never been afraid in a public bathroom of a trans woman. Not once. I have multiple trans friends and I would trust all of them far more than anyone who thinks they have a right to say what a woman is and is not based on characteristics alone.

Gender is a spectrum. Humans are a spectrum. It’s what makes us so unique and important – our differences make us stronger.

No woman deserves to be scared because she “isn’t feminine enough” or “dainty enough”. We have real issues in Missouri.

Education.
Healthcare.
Housing.
Etc.

This is a waste of time and it’s stupid.

[….]

I moved to this state because it was safer for me to be trans here than in southern Illinois. The people here were more accepting. If this passes I will have to leave for my own safety. And take my tax money with me. Do you want to see me with a full beard in the women’s restroom? Or do you just want to see me piss myself?

“Pull down your pants!” is certainly a different right wingnut take on “Your papers, please.”

Previously:

Hey Brandon Phelps (r), we hear you’re afraid of church ladies (September 18, 2025)

Voter Suppression Я Us

15 Sunday Feb 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Missouri General Assembly, Missouri Senate

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

31st Senate District, clown, General Assembly, missouri, Missouri Senate, Rick Brattin, right wingnut, voter suppression

Rick Brattin (r) [2025 file photo].

Speaking of nuts…

Rick Brattin for Missouri
[February 14, 2026]

The same party who for the past decade couldn’t even define what a woman was, and let lunatic men into girls locker rooms are now claiming that showing an ID to vote is an attack on women…? NUTS!
#SAVEAct

There is no mercy in some of the responses:

If I were an elected I would not choose to toil my days away fighting with people online about non-existent problems I’ve made up in my head.
I would spend time with people I loved and listen to my community without speaking to learn and grow as a person.
The only thing stronger than hate is love.

yes but Rick won’t do that because his heart is filled with Christian hate. There is no capacity for love in his world, other than for white nationalist people who fit inside his circle.
There’s no God in the universe, that would support his version of Christian hate. But he remains ignorantly, unaware and proud of it.
thank you for standing up against the bigotry, racism, misogyny, and xenophobia of this man and others.👍👍

but he’s obsessed with other people’s genitals and sex lives, so he has to have an outlet…

I 100 % agree with you!!! I’m tired of the disinformation and falsehoods that he and others from that party spews. I want elected officials to work to improve lives not be decisive!!

I’m confused?? Are you promoting having “nuts”? Seems like it.

It appears so. What a strange Valentine’s post.

===========

What do you call an act that will increase the work load for women disproportionately over men? You wanna make it so ALL US citizens need to carry a passport or their broth certificates, marriage certificates and any divorce decrees to prove citizenship(regardless of name change) then it will be equal. Otherwise yeah. It affects women more and gives us even MORE to do and potentially includes a poll tax.

Rick Brattin for Missouri
You have to have this stuff in order to drive to your polling location, open a bank account, write a check, do your taxes and so on and so forth. It’s your responsibility to have your affairs in order, ID is required for women to buy a firearm to protect themselves, should we eliminate that requirement?

This is an outright voter suppression bill, and you know it is-I have voted for 40 years and have yet to see anyone who was not registered vote-including undocumented immigrants. This an outright poll tax-o you believe Immigrants go to polling places pretending to be someone, then when the real voter shows up, what happens? though some cities allow noncitizens to vote on some local elections. Experts have long insisted that noncitizen voting is a rare problem. Voter roll audits before the 2024 elections in Georgia found only 20 registered noncitizens out of 8.2 million registered voters statewide. Republicans are deliberately timing the change in voter rules before consequential midterm elections.
Republicans will stop at nothing to interfere with the 2026 midterms — including leveraging ICE to gain access to sensitive voter information or pass their anti-democratic SAVE Act,”

sure and if you can’t realize that this is a time and energy tax on women that men don’t have and how that will affect women getting to the polls you live in a world defined by your male privilege. Be open to listening to women about their experiences.

NO! I use a driver’s license to open a bank account—I have NEVER used a passport. Cut the maga BS crap. You know how I also know that passports are not required—my late mother never had one—and she had multiple accounts. I need a driver’s license now to vote and have done so for three decades! You Republicans are trying to obfuscate the facts.

no did you read the bill. I need my DL thats to do those things. And my DL is not acceptable proof of citizenship only residency.

Look in the mirror.

And yet, men will not need to have any of this to register to vote. THAT IS THE POINT.

Actually, it’s nothing like those examples you site, because you don’t have to show multiple forms of ID. We already are required to show identification to vote. You are adding more documents to prove citizenship. Not to mention, illegal voting is minuscule. This law is directed at keeping people that don’t vote Republican out of the polls.

there it is. Can’t come up with a reasoned response so defaults like a robot to a stupid prompt “wUT iS A WomAn?” Idiot.

I absolutely do not have to have my (with official seals) birth certificate, marriage license, any divorce papers, or even a ‘Real ID’ to open a bank account, do my taxes, write a check, or open a credit account.
Why are you lying? Is that a GOP thing?
It is absolutely a poll tax which goes against the US Constitution. But the GOP wants to destroy that. How do I know? Their actions and their words.

that’s your response to legitimate concerns. Are you a child? My preteen is a kinder human.

are you serious? Are you a child? Are you going to say “your mom” or 6/7 now? My God, how embarrassing!

I used my driver’s license to get a bank account. No other document required.
True, I had to gather several documents recently for real ID, but since I did that, please explain why it’s not good enough to register to vote?
I have all the documents now but getting them in a timely way wasn’t easy nor without financial cost. I’ve encouraged every woman I know getting married since this nonsense came out, including my own DIL, not to take their husband’s name.
Too much bureaucracy from the party of smaller government required.

you keep forgetting the poll tax part. Either you dont know the constitution or you cherry pick the parts you like.

where do you bank at that doesn’t require an ID? Poll tax? Now you are grasping for straws.🤡

So now you’re going to shame women who choose to change their last name? Interesting.
Anyway, a marriage license isn’t on the list of acceptable forms of additional identification in this bill. Surely you read the actual bill and are not just regurgitating nonsense from “politicians” like Mr. Brattin, right? Right??

You don’t have to have a birth certificate with your married name on it or a passport to do those things. A lot of fools in your party are actually pushing for no ids to buy firearms. You are just straight up lying to people’s faces here and it’s just embarrassing.

not one of those items including the Missouri Real Id prove citizenship. All of those items prove identity, not the same and you know it.

==========

Women have been changing their names on ID’s for decades. It’s never been a problem. In fact, I went to the courthouse yesterday and got a copy of my birth certificate and both marriage licenses just in case I decide to get Real ID. It took less than 10 minutes. I absolutely don’t know why women think this is something that married women haven’t been doing all along. I can only guess that someone told them they needed to be mad about it and pretend it was something new and difficult to do. As a women, It’s embarrassing that women act so uneducated and helpless about something they’ve been doing for decades. It’s actually the men who probably have no idea of how to go about changing their name. Embrace it as a teaching moment for them.

This has been another edition of My Circumstances and Experiences Always Apply to Everyone Else.

how nice for you. I had to drive 6 hrs RT and take time off my then hourly job to get mine or wait 6-10 weeks; my state of birth doesn’t have centralized records. I had to drive another 5 hr RT in a different direction to get my marriage licenses. I was finally able to spend some $$ to get multiple certified copied. Not everyone can do that.
Just because something is easy for you doesn’t mean it is for everyone.

==========

It’s about federal overreach into states.
It’s about the constitution.

Rick Brattin for Missouri
There are parameters placed on federal elections, for instance the ADA and others, all of which have been held constitutional. You have to show ID, prove citizenship, and get a federal background check in order to exercise another constitutional right if I’m not mistaken?

What about the sections of the United States Constitution that outline how voting works?
There are not that many states that don’t require ID. I don’t have an issue with ID. I have an issue with federal government overreach.
We watched the federal government call states to tell them to ignore their constitutions and gerrymander in the middle of a decade. More government overreach.
Missourians are adamantly opposed to Fed government overreach and that’s why we let the politicians use millions of our tax dollars every year to tell the federal government to stay out of our business. We elect representatives who don’t bow down to the demands of the federal government. Why aren’t you doing that?

Rick Brattin for Missouri
The constitution requires that the election is held by the individual states , not that parameters of the election cannot be placed to ensure that rampant fraud from one state can cancel out the voices of other states. Just like the aforementioned ADA requirements to ensure easy access, but ensuring that only citizens vote across the nation or that blanket voter fraud isn’t occurring by simple presentation of ID isn’t some onerous overreach by the feds

Where is the mass voter fraud? The GOP spent millions of dollars, audited, states, etc. Mike Lindell drove his company into bankruptcy, trying to prove it. Media agencies did not prove the fraud they said happened. This involves thousands of investigators desperate to prove massive voter fraud and putting thousands of hours into trying.
Years ago Ken Paxton of Texas started offering $1 million to prove Trump lost due to fraud and he still has the money.
This is a push to nationalize elections under the false pretense of mass voter fraud.
Many states have implemented new voting restriction since 2020. The federal government should be happy with that and mind their own business.

==========

lying, liar says what? Go grift somewhere else.

If you make people pay for it, it’s illegal. If the government already knows who is and isn’t a citizen, why doesn’t the government provide its citizens a voter id? Nobody would ever argue against that. But, of course, that would not lead to the voter suppression that the gop so desperately desires!

Lots of fraud in Missouri, huh? Only way I can explain your multiple re-elections. Thankfully, those days are over now.

Heh.

The only fraud is whatever gerrymandered district you represent.

==========

That’s a stupid Charlie Kirk talking point. Why do you concern yourself so much with other’s genitals?

Rick Brattin for Missouri
Says the party of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, eugenics, mass murder of children. Cool talking point bro

Stop obsessing over others genitals, bro.

Haven’t seen a President from that party put a Black couple’s faces on ape bodies, though, so that’s kind of a weird talking point, bro.

how are you this big of an idiot?? 😂

You forget the entire chapter in middle school history class that covers party switch? Or are you being disingenuous on purpose? We aren’t stupid

Kids, don’t fall asleep in school.

You do realize that eventually the two parties basically switched sides on these subjects, don’t you? Democrats are now the party of freedom and upholding the Constitution. Of ensuring equal rights for all. Republicans are concerned with controlling everyone who doesn’t fit their idea of white and Christian. Although for them this includes a leader who is orange, degrades women, assaults women, makes fun of the disabled, commits fraud and grift to enrich himself daily, illegally imprisons immigrants and citizens, and protects child sex predators. I am a PROUD Democrat!

Someone didn’t finish reading their history book…

I wonder why the Trump administration wants to take down signs explaining the history of slavery. Must be because they are big Democrats!

Apparently he missed the 1960s history of LBJ signing the Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act followed by the Nixon Southern Strategy in 1968. Perhaps he didn’t read Project 2025. Oh well.

quick! back at the time of the Civil war, were Republicans liberal or conservative in their ideology?

says a man who clearly doesn’t know history.

===========

Well it is, who were the ones who changed last names that now don’t match birth certificates-WOMEN!!

Rick Brattin for Missouri
Uh, you don’t change your name on your birth certificate…ever… this is standard operating procedure for marriage for a century. Lol

Uh…

just stop. Isn’t there something that you can lecture about for men?

Can you read? She is saying when you change your last name, it no longer matches your birth certificate.
You made a poor argument, and now you are trying to argue with people because your reading comprehension skills are non-existent. Hilarious.

are you purposefully being obtuse?? My birth certificate has my birth name. Since I am a married woman since 1981, my birth certificate does not match my driver’s license which has my marriage name. This seems like you either don’t understand how it worked for women or you don’t give a darn, or you’re drunk on orange koolaid. If you are unable to represent all Missouri citizens, especially women, you should resign!!

Dear Rick:
Might I suggest more reading comprehension.
Fact: women who get married change their last names to match their spouse. This would not be the same as the name on their birth certificate. Unless of course; they marry themselves.

==========

The only people the “save” act will prevent from voting are American Citizens who have been legally voting for decades. Non-citizens already don’t vote in our elections. So this addresses a problem that doesn’t exist.

We’ve been sharing bathrooms with trans people for decades. Why it’s suddenly an issue is beyond me.

Stop relying on rhetorical fallacies to make your arguments.
Last time I checked, most men don’t change their last name when they get married. So, yes, it would disproportionately affect women in a negative way.

It isn’t just an ID. We already do that in MO. This is a poll tax, and absolutely will disenfranchise voters. Y’all really should think about this…more Democrat voters than Republican voters are passport holders.

Why is the trump administration ordering public libraries to stop processing passports?

Make it more difficult to get a passport, no passport, no voting. Simple.

Imagine the guy who doesn’t respect the votes of women. Wants to further make it more difficult for them to vote with the save act.

hiya. Missouri voter here. I had my original (1960s) birth certificate. Because the seal was no longer raised ( 60 year old paper, you know?) I had to obtain an replacement from my birth state. I had to pay expedited fee, since I didn’t expect my original to be refused.
Had my marriage certificate, social security card, utility bill ( a little tough in these days is e-payments) and the previously mentioned ORIGINAL birth certificate.
$60 for new certificate.
It’s a poll tax to keep women from voting.

My original ” birth certificate” was considered a registration of birth and had to pay the town for an embossed birth certificate but then my driver’s license didn’t match my birth certificate so I had to bring in my marriage certificate. All so I could pay the DMV for an enhanced license. Then I had to pay again to get a passport ID for citizenship. 🤔am I legal now? Was i illegal before? 😆

Is this your campaign platform? Is this your agenda? Is this your message? Is this your pledge of service to your constituents? Is this what you bring to the table?

Yes. This has been another edition of Short Answers to Simple Questions.

Rick Brattin ~ you are very mis-informed about women & name changes…..let me state a fact for you. I was adopted, I do not have an official Birth Certificate & my original Birth name is on it along with my biological parents names. Let me stress again…..I was adopted & given a new name, my lifelong name until I married, once, twice, three times. How many names is that? I have a Real ID on my driver’s license. I had to produce paperwork to get that. Now explain to me, what do I use to vote. I have voted for all of my adult life by producing my driver’s license. To force me to procure additional ID to vote or pay for that procurement is a poll tax. You know it & I know it. Believe me, many of us seniors do not have the money to acquire a passport. Again, if we do & pay for a passport, that is a poll tax. Missouri needs to focus on the REAL problems this state has rather than trying to belittle women.

The SAVE Act is voter suppression. Pure and simple. Voter fraud has been proven, again and again, to be negligible. The numbers affected by the SAVE act would be considerable. This is the polar opposite of election integrity. An un-American perversion of our electoral system. Even if the obstacles are not insurmountable, they remain obstacles. Some people, inevitably, will fail to surmount them. Result: the electorate is distorted far more than by the minuscule amount of fraud that exists. Shame on everyone who supports this bs.

Tell us you don’t know how the constitution works……

Curious what any of that has to do with serving Missouri?
You make up issues to find solutions to things that aren’t really problems. You followed the party script perfectly.

What a crayon eater.

Paste, too, probably.

Rick Brattin (r) [2013 Show Me Progress file photo].

Rick Brattin’s (r) favorite whine…

21 Wednesday Jan 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Missouri General Assembly, Missouri Senate, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

clown, General Assembly, Jefferson City, missouri, Rick Brattin, right wingnut, whiner

Rick Brattin (r) [2025 file photo].

Rick Brattin for Missouri
[January 21, 2026]

When you see all of these mass protests that the left is doing nationwide, just realize these yayhoos are being paid, their transportation provided in nice comfy expensive charter buses, and pallets of food miraculously arrive for them. Their signs are printed and distributed to them upon their arrival, and their organizer gives them their barking orders on what they are supposed to do.
This isn’t grassroots, they are like extras on a mass movie set and by law they should probably all have to register as lobbyists.
[….]

Democracy, meh.

Some of the responses:

That is a bold face lie. I’m not sure what is worse, that you are intentionally lying to your constituents or that you are stupid enough to believe the people that are feeding you that line of bull.

Rick, it’s ironic that you do not respond to phone calls, messages or mail when we need to talk with you about issues but you have chosen this issue to spout falsehoods. First communication from you!

Are you really so stupid you believe what you’re saying? Wait don’t answer that lol. Retired grandma here. Not paid. We drove, but know many of the people on those busses, not paid either. Please, continue to talk your bs. There really are this many people who are willing to stand up and speak out to save our democracy…and it’s growing every single day.

Rick Brattin (r) [2013 file photo].

Hey Mr. Brattin! I am one of your constituents (not by choice), and I drove 2 hours to come have my voice (as well as 3 other constituents voices) heard today! I didn’t get paid. But what I did get was the satisfaction of getting to talk to other constituents who are just as unhappy as I am that you can’t seem to do your job without infringing on the Missourians rights who have plainly voted on measures they want.
You serve the people. I am sure you will be reminded of that once your term ends.

Local man baffled by the idea of “organizing”. More at 11

Lol if we’re being paid to protest where’s my check?

Gee, and here I am always protesting for free. You’re a ridiculous person Brattin.

Rick here is a liar. I do it all for free. My friends do it all for free.

I bought three new Mercedes with mine

Heh.

LOL. Bro posted a picture of buses and some snacks and somehow is convinced of some massive protestor conspiracy. Top notch work 🙄

all you idiots wear the same red hats

Heh.

And China makes them. 😂

yeah. We all go to the same places for our signs and organize in advance genius. Are you people really this stupid???

Yes. This has been another edition of “Short Answers to Simple Questions”.

Lol! I got paid for protesting the same day I got my Doge check 😂😂😂

Oh they got snacks!
I love snacks!

Do they pay more than ICE?

wow. and to think I’ve been doing it on my own time free of charge. Can you dig a little deeper and get some more info so I can sign up and get paid? Thanks bro

How much do they get paid?
Is it under the table?
Does it have benefits and 401k?

I’m looking for the one that provides healthcare coverage!

What is sad about your post Is that you really believe it?

he’s an idiot OR he thinks voters are idiots

exactly. What’s worse? That he’s a liar or just stupid? 🤦‍♀️

like for real…they just blindly believe whatever they see on Fox “news”. 🤦‍♀️

Is this a parody account?😆😆😆

Sadly, no.

Stop. I was there today. Drove myself, ate a lovely lunch at Arris Pizza and drove home.

No, we just know how to organize against fascism.

water cannons – every military base has at least one xtra — hose em down

Think about that one for just a second.

Such mature language to call them yahoos, Rick. There’s an awful lot of people protesting on their own dime. How about you do your job instead of creating posts like this.

I bet the guy in the bathrobe in the Minneapolis snow was being paid. You guys are ridiculous. 😆😆😆

Children shouldn’t have access to the internet. Please be quiet while adults are talking.

That’s a pretty brash statement. I am sure there are still some of us who feel strongly about exercising our first amendment rights without it being for monetary gain. Those of us from the 60’s and 70’s understand that.

=====

Keep calling this out, Senator Brattin

he’s not calling it out. He’s making it up. Don’t be fooled. The left isn’t paying fake protestors. We are terrified and our of at what this country is becoming and if you don’t see it, it’s because you are choosing not to see it. Facism is sneaky. This country is not great when our own citizens are scared of our own government. Do better

=====

And the moon is made of cheese.

You’re confusing this with J6. And the buses paid for by the wife of Clarence Thomas.

There’s that.

Hey so who do I call to get my check? And back pay since I’ve never gotten one for any of the protests I’ve attended? Oh and who reimburses me for the supplies I purchased to make my signs? Ya know since they provided printed ones… 🙄

Then it should be easy to go undercover and get proof and receipts yeah? Go on and do it. Show us clown.

Oh hell no, I protest for free!

Yeah, with all these trump tariff and doge checks, plus the protest checks, I’m shocked the economy isn’t doing better

Heh.

It’s always amusing to see that Republicans think liberals get paid to do things…mainly because the Republicans could never imagine having something so meaningful that you’d fight for it for free. Classic projection and sidestep. You think the libs do it because that’s the only way you’d do it. Some folks just believe in human rights and the sanctity of human life and liberty. Ask yourself which is more Christlike, you won’t be seeing it in the mirror.

The fact that so many people protesting this administration is inconceivable to you and others is mind boggling. Tells me that you are not in touch with the concerns of your constituents. (Also, those pictures do not “prove” a point.)

Is this a 1099 gig?

Heh.

So difficult for maga to imagine caring about others or something other than themselves 🤭🤔

Why is it so hard for people to understand that folks hate trump for free? And why has there never been proof of payments? And why hasn’t maga ever went undercover to blow up the whole deal??… you guys are hilarious…lmao

=====

There should be a law requiring identification of paid protesters. We can start with a general law that states all acts of protest with “x” number of people require a permit. If a permit is not provided then protesters are not allowed to inhibit public traffic or neighborhoods.

Keep trying to take away the 1st amendment. That will definitely win you cucks the midterms 🤣

Geez, almost like no one ever thought of that…oh wait, Russia and China beat you to it.

should that same law require a group of masked men with weapons shouting demands also identify who they are?

We see what you did there.

“Stop the ICEholes”

Good thing the 60s didn’t depend on you.

So you’re for small government, right?🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

=====

Special kind of stupid aren’t you.

Are you okay? I’m seriously worried about your brain or your soul but either way you might want to get it checked 😬

Dude, are you dumb?

Dunning-Kruger. Stupid people don’t know that they’re stupid.

Is that what you really believe? If it is, I’m really sorry for you.

You are remarkably stupid.

Are you merely stupid? Or are you huffing spray paint? Either way, when idiocy goes to $50 a barrel, you’re Saudi Arabia.

Tell us you are an idiot without telling us you are an idiot.

Wow. You are clearly as ignorant as they come, a liar, or both. Which is it? People protest you and your cronies because you are…well, as stated in the previous sentence, both. We don’t get paid to stand up to your lies and bad policies.

Just say you’re a moron. Takes much fewer words.

Just a lot of people dont like Nazis.

It’s freaking awesome that Republicans have not once came up with the idea to “pose as an agitator, get paid big bucks with delicious snacks, expose all with Sean Hannity.” Like either (A) ya’ll are completely delusional and half the country suffering from what you call “TDS” really does hate the man that much to freely protest, or (B), you folks must be all tied as the absolute worst board game players in the history of mankind.

Arrest them all.

Never heard of the Constitution, slept through school.

Senator Rick Brattin for Missouri, your post is indicative of your inability to comprehend that there are things so important like our country and our form of government we don’t have to be paid to stand up for them.
In addition your post is indicative of the worry that you and your fellow unfit for office Republicans are feeling. You underestimated the resolve, integrity, ethics, and intelligence of “We the people”

There’s that.

You are some kind of stupid.

Same old tired lies. Nobody has to pay us to stand up for human rights. To fight for the rights of human beings, who are also citizens, to not be taken out in a Minnesota winter barely clothed at almost 60 years old. To not be shot in the face. To not have to do CPR on their 6-month-old because they were tear-gassed. Why is it beyond your comprehension that anyone would have to be paid to be a decent human being with empathy for others? We have been here before, and you’re on the wrong side of history.

Rick why didn’t you come out of your office and actually speak with us? We are Missouri voters who gladly attended for free. I spoke at the rally. But when a group of constituents went to speak to our senator after the rally he literally ran out of his office and hid from us. You might be more in tune with your constituents if you weren’t locked in your office taking creepy aerial photos of buses and lunches.

Does it make you sad that you’re just another Republican puking up lies? If you want people to listen to you, maybe you should try listening to the voters. It’s a 2 way street.
We have enough liars in the government. We need people who will tell the truth.
How do I know you’re lying? Because if there were any truth to this, you would sign up and have video of all of this happening, not a couple pictures that show nothing. Not only that, you’d have a check stub proving that these people are being paid.
Without any of that, you’re just a cog in the propaganda machine. I mean, I get why you have to believe those lies… because otherwise you’d have to accept the fact that so many people disagree with you and don’t like you… if you’re right, you can stay the course no matter what your voters think. Doesn’t make you right though, just bad at your job.

Missouri General Assembly: this time, with even more right wingnut dogma

01 Thursday Jan 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bills, General Assembly, Hardy Billington, missouri, prefiled, right wingnut

Missouri Capitol Building, Jefferson City, Missouri [2023 file photo]

The 2026 Regular Session of the Missouri General Assembly convenes in Jefferson City on January 7th. Bill prefiling for the session started on December 1, 2024.

1046 bills were prefiled.

==========

Hardy Billington (r) [2022 file photo].

A bill in search of a problem:

HB 1607 Modifies guidelines for student participation in athletic contests organized by sex
Sponsor: Billington, Hardy (152)
Proposed Effective Date: 8/28/2026
LR Number: 5106H.01I
Last Action: 12/01/2025 – Prefiled (H)
Bill String: HB 1607
[….]

The summary:

HB 1607– PARTICIPATION IN ATHLETICS COMPETITIONS
SPONSOR: Billington

Currently, schools are only allowed to let a student compete in an athletics competition designated for the biological sex of the student, as stated on the student’s official birth certificate, with the exception that female students can participate in competitions designated for male students if there is no corresponding athletics competition designed for female students available. This provision is set to expire on August 28th, 2027.

The bill removes the expiration date.

This bill is similar to HB 36 (2025).

Make it make sense.

==========

HB 1608 Modifies provisions relating to gender transition procedures
Sponsor: Billington, Hardy (152)
Proposed Effective Date: 8/28/2026
LR Number: 5076H.01I
Last Action: 12/01/2025 – Prefiled (H)
Bill String: HB 1608
[….]

The summary:

HB 1608– GENDER TRANSITION PROCEDURES
SPONSOR: Billington

Currently, a health care provider must not knowingly prescribe or administer cross-sex hormones or puberty blocking drugs for the purpose of a gender transition for any individual under 18 years of age. This prohibition is set to expire on August 28, 2027.

The bill repeals the expiration clause so that the prohibition will remain in effect.

This bill is similar to HB 1016 (2025).

This is some kind of crisis?

==========

HB 1609 Enacts provisions governing flags displayed in public school classrooms
Sponsor: Billington, Hardy (152)
Proposed Effective Date: 8/28/2026
LR Number: 5109H.01I
Last Action: 12/01/2025 – Prefiled (H)
Bill String: HB 1609
[….]

The summary:

HB 1609– FLAGS IN CLASSROOMS
SPONSOR: Billington

This bill authorizes public schools to fly the flag of The United States, the Missouri State flag, the POW/MIA flag, or the school flag and restricts public schools from flying any other flag.

This bill is similar to HB 1398 (2025).

A few of our suggestions for school flags:


Heh.

==========

HB 1610 Lowers the statute of limitations for certain actions
Sponsor: Billington, Hardy (152)
Proposed Effective Date: 8/28/2026
LR Number: 5052H.01I
Last Action: 12/01/2025 – Prefiled (H)
Bill String: HB 1610
[….]

Do tell.

The summary.

HB 1610– STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS
SPONSOR: Billington

This bill decreases the statute of limitation on certain actions from five years to three years. Such actions include all actions for contracts, with some exceptions; actions for a liability, other than a penalty or forfeiture, created by statute; actions for trespass on real estate; actions for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels; and actions for relief on the ground of fraud.

This bill is similar to HB 41 (2025) and HB 1404 (2024).

Donald Trump (r) comes to mind.

==========

Pray tell.

HB 1612 Requires school districts to display the Ten Commandments in each building and classroom in the school district
Sponsor: Billington, Hardy (152)

Proposed Effective Date: 8/28/2026
LR Number: 5110H.01I
Last Action: 12/01/2025 – Prefiled (H)
Bill String: HB 1612
[….]

Which version?

The summary:

HB 1612– THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN SCHOOLS
SPONSOR: Billington

This bill requires that beginning January 1, 2027, school districts and charter schools must display the Ten Commandments in each building and classroom.

The bill provides specific criteria for the posting of the Ten Commandments and authorizes the use of public funds to purchase such displays. However, the
school board or governing board is not required to spend the board’s moneys to purchase the displays.

This bill is similar to HB 34 (2025).

The version in the bill:

[….]
171.022. 1. As used in this section, “Ten Commandments” means the following text:

“The Ten Commandments
I AM the LORD thy God.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”

Well, god damn, it’s a good thing the Chiefs are moving to Kansas.

Again, Donald Trump (r) comes to mind.

Chaser:

449 U.S. 39 (1980)

[….]
Sydell STONE et al.
v.
James B. GRAHAM, Superintendent of Public Instruction of Kentucky.

No. 80-321.
Nov. 17, 1980.
Rehearing Denied Jan. 12, 1981.
See 449 U.S. 1104, 101 S.Ct. 904.

PER CURIAM.

A Kentucky statute requires the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments, purchased with private contributions, on the wall of each public classroom in the State.1 Petitioners, claiming that this statute violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment,2 sought an injunction against its enforcement. The state trial court upheld the statute, finding that its “avowed purpose” was “secular and not religious,” and that the statute would “neither advance nor inhibit any religion or religious group” nor involve the State excessively in religious matters. App. to Pet. for Cert. 38-39. The Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Kentucky affirmed by an equally divided court. 599 S.W.2d 157 (1980). We reverse.

This Court has announced a three-part test for determining whether a challenged state statute is permissible under the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution:

“First, the statute must have a secular legislative purpose; second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion . . .; finally the statute must not foster ‘an excessive government entanglement with religion.’ ” Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 612-613, 91 S.Ct. 2105, 2111, 29 L.Ed.2d 745 (1971) (citations omitted).

If a statute violates any of these three principles, it must be struck down under the Establishment Clause. We conclude that Kentucky’s statute requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schoolrooms had no secular legislative purpose, and is therefore unconstitutional.

The Commonwealth insists that the statute in question serves a secular legislative purpose, observing that the legislature required the following notation in small print at the bottom of each display of the Ten Commandments: “The secular application of the Ten Commandments is clearly seen in its adoption as the fundamental legal code of Western Civilization and the Common Law of the United States.” 1978 Ky. Acts, ch. 436, § 1 (effective June 17, 1978), Ky.Rev.Stat. § 158.178 (1980).

The trial court found the “avowed” purpose of the statute to be secular, even as it labeled the statutory declaration “self-serving.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 37. Under this Court’s rulings, however, such an “avowed” secular purpose is not sufficient to avoid conflict with the First Amendment. In Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203, 83 S.Ct. 1560, 10 L.Ed.2d 844 (1963), this Court held unconstitutional the daily reading of Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer in the public schools, despite the school district’s assertion of such secular purposes as “the promotion of moral values, the contradiction to the materialistic trends of our times, the perpetuation of our institutions and the teaching of literature.” Id., at 223, 83 S.Ct., at 1572.

The pre-eminent purpose for posting the Ten Commandments on schoolroom walls is plainly religious in nature. The Ten Commandments are undeniably a sacred text in the Jewish and Christian faiths,3 and no legislative recitation of a supposed secular purpose can blind us to that fact. The Commandments do not confine themselves to arguably secular matters, such as honoring one’s parents, killing or murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and covetousness. See Exodus 20: 12-17; Deuteronomy 5: 16-21. Rather, the first part of the Commandments concerns the religious duties of believers: worshipping the Lord God alone, avoiding idolatry, not using the Lord’s name in vain, and observing the Sabbath Day. See Exodus 20: 1-11; Deuteronomy 5: 6-15.

This is not a case in which the Ten Commandments are integrated into the school curriculum, where the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like. Abington School District v. Schempp, supra, at 225, 83 S.Ct., at 1573. Posting of religious texts on the wall serves no such educational function. If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey, the Commandments. However desirable this might be as a matter of private devotion, it is not a permissible state objective under the Establishment Clause.

It does not matter that the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are financed by voluntary private contributions, for the mere posting of the copies under the auspices of the legislature provides the “official support of the State . . . Government” that the Establishment Clause prohibits. 374 U.S., at 222, 83 S.Ct., at 1571; see Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, 431, 82 S.Ct. 1261, 1267, 8 L.Ed.2d 601 (1962).4 Nor is it significant that the Bible verses involved in this case are merely posted on the wall, rather than read aloud as in Schempp and Engel, for “it is no defense to urge that the religious practices here may be relatively minor encroachments on the First Amendment.” Abington School District v. Schempp, supra, at 225, 83 S.Ct., at 1573. We conclude that§ 158.178 (1980) violates the first part of the Lemon v. Kurtzman, test, and thus the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.5

The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, and the judgment below is reversed.

It is so ordered.

[….]

Forty-Five years ago.

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