Brent Cox, left, talks to Josh Malkin, right, of the South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, right, as they wait to talk to lawmakers in the lobby of the Statehouse on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina Sen. Richard Cash, R-Powdersville, speaks in favor of a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, left, and Sen.
That testimony was most important to Brent Cox, who was waiting to talk to a lawmaker in the Statehouse lobby Wednesday in a “Protect Trans Youth” T-shirt. He said his heart breaks for the way children are treated when they may be dealing with transgender or LGBTQ+ issues but this issue was especially galling because lawmakers were going against doctors.
Supporters of the bill have cited their own unpublished evidence that puberty blockers increase self-harm and can be irreversible. South Carolina’s General Assembly has taken a slower, more deliberate approach to social issues during a session dominated by debates that led to a law allowing the open carrying of guns and a broad bill to encourage more energy generation by loosening regulations on power plant approvals.