A Nebraska lawmaker faces an ethics investigation for simply being mother to a trans child

[Celerity]

https://www.reckon.news/news/2023/04/this-is-harassment-nebraska-lawmaker-megan-hunt-slams-ethics-investigation-over-her-trans-child.html

Nebraska State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, is seen in the Legislative Chamber in Lincoln, Neb., Friday, March 1, 2019. Abortion supporters have scored a surprising victory in Nebraska, derailing a bill that would have automatically outlawed abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns its decision to legalize the procedure.

Nebraska Democratic state Sen. Megan Hunt is being investigated for an alleged conflict of interest in her decision to vote against a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for people under 19. David D. Begley, a prominent Omaha attorney, filed the complaint on March 23, claiming that because Hunt is the mother of a trans child, she’s likely to benefit financially if the legislation, LB 574, does not become law.

On Wednesday, Hunt was informed by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission that the group would launch a formal probe into the matter. The lawmaker responded to the allegations the same day, speaking from the state Capitol. “This, colleagues, is not serious. This is harassment,” she said. “This is using the legal system that we have in our state to stop corruption, to increase transparency, to hold governments accountable and using it to harass a member of the Legislature.”

LB 574 was introduced in January by freshman Sen. Kathleen Kauth, a Republican. Hunt’s medical insurance and that of her child’s is provided by Medicaid, which is managed by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. Based on a speech Hunt gave on the state legislature floor, gender-affirming care for her child would cost $7,000 a month without insurance.

LB 574 states that “state funds shall not be directly or indirectly used, granted, paid or distributed to any entity, organization or individual that provides gender altering procedures to an individual younger than 19.” Gender-affirming care is not part of the state’s Medicaid coverage, however. In Begley’s complaint, he argues that “If LB 574 does not become law, then Sen. Hunt’s immediate family member could receive a financial benefit with Medicaid paying for the medical sources necessary to transition genders.”

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