For Immediate Release:  March 24, 2023

Contact: Denise Cantrell – 573-751-1464

Protecting Missouri Children

I will stop at nothing to protect our most vulnerable and important demographic: children. Senate Bill 49, the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act,” protects Missouri children under the age of 18 from experimental gender transition surgeries and the use of hormones and puberty blockers for gender transition. Protecting Missouri children, who don’t yet have the mental faculties to understand the consequences of these irreversible and potentially life-altering procedures, is a top priority of mine and the majority of my colleagues, and this act passed the Senate with a vote of 24-8. This legislation is not about discriminating against transgender adolescents, it is about protecting children, our most precious resource and the future of Missouri.

Senate Bill 39, the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which passed the Senate by a vote of 25-8, protects women and the integrity of women’s sports in Missouri. Biological men, on average, have innate advantages when competing against females in physical contests. The Senate passed the Save Women’s Sports Act to ensure that organized female sports continue to maintain a fair and balanced environment for competition. Female athletes have fought for more than a century for the right to compete in unisex, fair and organized athletics, and the Save Women’s Sports Act supports fair competition for the female athletes in our state and gives them the opportunities they have worked hard for and very much deserve.

Both SB 49 and SB 39 must be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by the governor before they can become law.

Senator Cierpiot presents a courtesy resolution to Charlotte Brownlee, a junior at Summit Christian Academy, whose acrylic painting, “A Warm Embrace,” was selected by Sen. Cierpiot to represent the 8th Senatorial District in the 2023 Senate Art Exhibit.

 Senator Cierpiot presents a courtesy resolution to J. Thomas “Tom” Lovell Jr. of Lee’s Summit who was inducted into the Missouri Recreation and Parks Hall of Fame on March 9 for his many contributions to the recreation and park movement.

I am honored to serve the citizens of the 8th Senatorial District and will continue to work tirelessly to keep Missouri children safe. Please feel free to contact my office in Jefferson City at 573-751-1464. For information about committees or sponsored legislation for the 2023 session, please visit my official Missouri Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Cierpiot.

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