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Several hundred opponents of the UCP government’s proposed trans legislation turned out Saturday for a protest at the Alberta legislature.
Waving transgender pride flags and carrying placards, demonstrators took aim at three bills introduced in the legislature last week.
The bills would ban gender-affirming surgery for those 17 and under, as well as hormone therapy for minors under 15 (Bill 26), and require parental consent to change names or pronouns in schools (Bill 27).
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The third piece of legislation, Bill 29, would restrict transgender female athletes from competing in sports against biological women.
Premier Danielle Smith said the policies would act as a “guardrail” to “protect the future choices of minors who identify as transgender or who are experiencing gender dysphoria,” although critics say they roll back the rights of transgender people.
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Rowan Morris, a member of Trans Rights YEG who helped organize the protest, said around 500 people attended.
He said he was particularly heartened by a conversation with a woman after the rally.
“(She said), ‘My whole family is here, we’re all conservatives, we will all be conservatives for the rest of our lives, but we recognize that bodily autonomy is a freedom we need to uphold for all Albertans. Whether we agree on how you live your life or not, the government does not have a place in your private medical decisions with your doctor.’
“We felt it was a beautiful space for folks who felt that the UCP is not meeting the needs of Albertans,” Morris said.
jwakefield@postmedia.com
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