Dozens of Rock Bridge High School students took part in a protest during the school day against Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule, which severely restricts access to gender-affirming care to minors and adults alike in Missouri.
Juniors Leilani Lynn and Jay Castilow organized the protest after Bailey’s announcement on April 13. Rather than chanting or using a call-and-response format, Lynn said they decided to create a space where people could share their concerns about the new emergency rule.
“I think that having everybody share their stories and having it documented like this, it's more noticeable, it's more personal and you see the individual experiences and how it's affecting mental and physical health,” Lynn said.
According to the Associated Press, the American Civil Liberties Union is suing to block the restrictions Bailey’s rule creates. Castilow said the emergency rule is taking care away from the people who need it most.
Michael Frankman is a freshman who joined in to try to get a message across to anyone who would listen.
“Trans people are people and trans rights are human rights,” Frankman said. “As soon as you start to stand against trans rights, you start to stand against human rights.”
Isabella Shah, also a Rock Bridge freshman, said she came to support transgender students, friends, family members and human rights overall.
“It’s hard to hate people when you know them. The easiest way to hate people is from afar as some group, and when you know people’s stories, it gives people solidarity. It gives people community,” Shah said.
Lynn said the goal of the protest was not to inspire legislative change. They said because they are minors and cannot vote, they settled on trying to create a more comfortable space at Rock Bridge.
The rule is set to go into effect tomorrow.
