The 109th Nebraska Legislature is underway.

Forty-nine senators are gathered in Lincoln for 90 days of the legislative session, which will take us into early June. Sixteen of these senators are brand new. Another 12 senators have been involved in only two full legislative sessions. In short, more than half of the members have less than three years of experience in the Unicameral. That said, all the senators bring plenty of experience and energy to the table.

In the opening days of session, the Legislature filled key leadership positions, assigned all senators to their committees, and began the process of introducing legislative bills. As I write this, only three legislative days are completed, and just over 130 bills have been introduced. (But once you read it, they’ll be eight legislative session days in the rearview mirror—and likely some 400-500 bills will have been introduced.) The bills that have been introduced so far, as usual, cover a broad array of issues: taxes, transportation, health care, criminal justice, poverty alleviation, you name it.

On the third day of session, the Stand with Women Act (LB89) was introduced by Senator Kathleen Kauth of Millard. This legislation is a major priority of the Nebraska Catholic Conference.

The Stand with Women Act is a simple, commonsense bill that really shouldn’t need to be introduced or passed. But given the confused culture in which we find ourselves, it’s an absolute imperative that LB89 find its way to the governor’s desk and be signed into law.

LB89 does some basic things: It protects girls’ and boys’ private spaces, like locker rooms and bathrooms; ensures that women are guaranteed fair competition in sports and are not forced to compete against males; provides a consistent definition of “male” and “female,” based on biological sex, in state law; and extends these protections across government agencies.

As Governor Pillen said at the press conference announcing the introduction of the bill: “Only girls belong in girls’ sports, and men do not belong in women’s spaces.” And as Senator Kauth stated: just one of these violations is too many.

LB89’s protections are common sense. More importantly, they align with God’s design and intention for us as human beings. Recall the great words of Scripture: “Male and female, He created them.”

As Pope Francis has noted, “the ‘ugliest danger’ facing our world today is gender ideology.” This ideology attempts to “cancel out differences” between man and woman. It strikes at the very core of what it means to be a human person, created in the image and likeness of God, “beautifully and wonderfully made.”

Joining Senator Kauth and Governor Pillen at the press conference introducing the bill were Jordy Bahl and Rebekah Allick, two incredible Husker athletes. Allick noted that LB89 isn’t “just about safety and security—it’s about upholding the truth” and upholding a fundamental truth of reality.

So, what’s the path forward for LB89? Are the votes for its passage already secured?

Senator Kauth noted at the press conference that she is still shy of having 33 senators in support of this legislation, 33 being the “magic number” to overcome filibusters during floor debate. She has been doing significant advocacy work since last session to help senators understand her legislation to gain their support.

What we’ll need to do as Nebraska Catholics in the coming weeks and months ahead is make sure that our voice is heard in the legislative process, to help support and amplify Senator Kauth’s leadership. There will be significant opposition mounted against LB89, and it will be important that we show up and speak up in favor of LB89. You’ll want to make sure you are part of our advocacy network by visiting www.NEcatholic.org, so that when the moments for advocacy come you are ready to go.
In the meanwhile, take a moment to send Senator Kauth (kkauth@leg.ne.gov) a brief e-mail thanking her for introducing this critical legislation, and be sure to pray for her, the women who stepped up at the press conference to share their stories, and the passage of LB89.

God bless all you do to bear the light of Christ in the public square!