LINCOLN- Following a three-week filibuster, as well as three days of contentious debate, the Nebraska Legislature has passed Sen. Kauth's LB574, a bill that would restrict individuals under the age of nineteen from receiving gender-affirming care, on a 30-17-2 vote. However, before this, the body voted to end debate, or invoke cloture, which passed 33-16, the minimum amount of votes required to push this motion through.

State Sen. Christy Armendariz, alongside Sens. Tom Brandt and Jana Hughes, either did not vote for LB574 or voted against it. Armendariz stated that she did not "want to encroach on [parent's] rights" by voting to pass the bill, and Hughes stated that she would've voted for the bill if an amendment had been introduced that narrowed the bill. "I came here to do property tax relief and broadband," said Hughes.

The mentioned amendment would just ban gender-altering services. The amendment was introduced by the bill's sponsor, Sen. Kauth, and is framed as a compromise. Opponents have spoken out against the amendment, Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said, "So now you want to compromise to assuage your guilt? No thank you." Kauth has expressed concerns that the bill may fail to pass without the addition of the amendment.

Following this vote, a myriad of Democratic senators pledged to continue the filibuster until the end of the Legislative session. Many of them also expressed anguish at the passage of LB574 through its first round of debate, with Sen. Day saying, "How hard it is to be a kid, let alone having your very existence being debated by adults on TV."

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