How Burrows, Phelan, & Abbott Killed a Ban on Sex Change Surgeries in Texas – Episode 140

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Today is another one of those heavy process episodes where we dive into how some Republican lawmakers in Austin killed a ban on the gender transitioning of minors.

Though they don’t make the headline, Jared Patterson, Shelby Slawson, and Jeff Leach will make cameo appearances in this saga, and Matt Krause will leap in front of an oncoming bus.

This is a topic we have covered since the beginning of our podcast, but just a few weeks ago, we exposed how Stephanie Klick was specifically involved in the killing of this legislation.
This episode picks up in the fourth quarter of the session, where several players all worked together to kill this bill.
Dustin Burrows and Dade Phelan were definitely the tip of the spear when it came to killing this life-saving policy.
When Burrows’ role was first called out, it was Chris Ekstrom and Sid Miller who teamed up, and Krause who came to Burrows’ rescue. Regardless of how much cover Burrows got, his ultimate role of slow-walking the bill was masterfully executed with an assist from Shelby Slawson and Jared Patterson, two members of the House Calendars Committee who worked together very closely this session.

Dade Phelan needed to kill the policy’s last shot at passing, and Jeff Leach stepped in to help him—right before coming out and proclaiming anger at himself for killing SB 1311.

Finally, Greg Abbott’s early silence—and obfuscation followed by a nefariously crafted letter on gender transitioning—helped ensure that children are still transitioned in Texas.
Mark Davis’ interview, which we play a segment of in this episode, is crucial in understanding just how hard Abbott worked to ensure this issue was not addressed.
This episode is wonky, but really important. Hope you enjoy the episode.

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