Omaha protesters rally in opposition to proposed legislation focused on transgender Nebraskans

OMAHA, Neb. – As legislation regarding transgender healthcare nears a potential final vote in the Nebraska Legislature, LGBTQ supporters gathered to protest in Omaha on Sunday.

Several people gathered at Memorial Park to voice their opposition to LB574, which would ban gender-affirming therapies such as hormone treatments, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery for those under 19 in Nebraska.

Protesters also rallied against LB575, which would restrict bathrooms, locker rooms and sports participation based on biological sex, and LB371, which would ban minors from attending drag shows. Both LB574 and LB575 were introduced by Kathleen Kauth, while Dave Murman brought LB371 into the Legislature.

“I’m a person who has a number of trans friends,” said protester David Nesbit. “It felt like the sort of thing that I had to do, to come up and represent for them.”

The protests come on the heels of several other recent rallies around the topic.

Students at Lincoln Southeast, Omaha Westside and Omaha Central walked out of class in recent weeks, while opponents of the bills have also rallied outside the Capitol on multiple occasions.

Supporters of the legislation have included Westboro Baptist Church, which protested in favor of LB574 on Thursday, the same day state senators voted to give the bill second round approval. State Sen. Megan Hunt, who opposed LB574, argued that speaker John Arch played into WBC's hands by allowing the vote to occur on the same day that the protests took place. Opponents counterprotested those from WBC on Thursday, as well.