Thompson Rehder responds to California AG's Missouri travel ban

State Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder of Scott City had a quick retort Tuesday, July 18, when asked about a recent announcement by California's top law enforcement official restricting state-funded travel to Missouri and two other states due to passage of alleged "anti-LGBTQ" laws passed in Nebraska, Wyoming and the Show Me State.

"These new laws aren't just discriminatory, they constitute a clear case of government overreach -- and it's an alarming trend we're witnessing across the country," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday, July 14.

"By preventing transgender individuals from participating in sports aligned with their gender identity, or by denying them access to critical healthcare, these legislative actions directly contradict the values of inclusivity and diversity. These laws pose significant risks for deepening the stigmatization and alienation of LGBTQ+ youth who are already subject to pervasive discrimination, bullying, and hate crimes."

Bonta's Missouri-directed comments center on May's passage of Senate Bill 39, introduced by Thompson Rehder, prohibiting a school district or a charter school "from allowing any student to compete in an athletic competition designated for the biological sex opposite to the student's biological sex as stated on the student's official birth certificate or other government record."

Thompson Rehder told the Southeast Missourian that Bonta's critique "doesn't surprise" her.

"Californians have been racing to relocate to red states for the past several years. They most likely don't want those people to see how beautiful and free (Missouri) is," said Thompson Rehder, who announced last week she intends to seek the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor.

"We are a state that believes in protecting women's equality. I'm proud that Missouri refuses to allow boys or men to take a girl's place on a girls team."

Bonta's declaration of a travel ban to the impacted states follows California's passage of a 2016 law banning state-funded travel to any U.S. state determined by California Department of Justice to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community.

Bonta's remarks were critical of the Show Me State measure withholding education funding for schools allowing male-to-female transgender individuals to take part on female sports teams.

"I honestly don't know one person who cares what California thinks about our state," Thompson Rehder concluded.