THE COUNTRY

TRANS DOCTOR LEAVES AFTER HOUSE PASSES BILL BANNING GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE

Webster, S.D. has a population of less than 2,000 people. Rural areas have been experiencing physician shortages, and Webster has one less due to anti-trans legislation sending Dr. Mayson Bedient to its northern neighbor.

Bedient, who is also a trans man, is a general practitioner and genderaffirming care specialist. He worked in Webster until December 2022, and now works with Essentia Health in

Fargo, N.D.

South Dakota’s House Bill 1080, which prohibits gender-affirming care for minors, passed to the House floor on Jan. 31.

“As someone who went to school for as long as I have and practiced for as long as I have, and gotten all that experience - it’s almost offensive in a way, that these legislators are coming in and saying that they know better than I do or than my colleagues do,” Bedient told KELOLAND.

RABBI AND HIS SON TESTIFY AGAINST ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATION

Rabbi Daniel Bogard, along with fellow Jewish and Christian clergy, testified at a state legislature hearing in Missouri focused on transgender student-athletes. State lawmakers are pushing six bills, with half of the bills placing restrictions on transgender student-athletes and the other half banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors.

Bogard’s 11-year-old son testified in support of his brother and friend. Both his brother and friend are transgender.

“I have to be here because you, the Missouri government, keeps trying to take away what they have a passion for. Why do you keep trying to take things from these kids?” he said, according to Los Angeles Blade. “Kids just want to have fun, playing sports, not being stressed having to come here to tell you to let them play. This has affected my brother, because now he is scared he will not get to do what he loves.”

Visitors To Gay Bar Robbed Using Phone Facial Recognition

According to the New York Police Department, three men visiting The Eagle NYC were robbed using facial recognition on their phones.

The men in their late 30’s and 40’s were each robbed of $1,000 to $5,000 on different nights in October and November. Authorities have stated that no arrests have been made and the investigation is still underway.

Capt. Robert Gault of NYC’s 10th Precinct discussed the occurrences at a police community council meeting, according to NBC News.

“What we think is happening with this scheme is they’re being lured away from the club, maybe to say, ‘Hey, you wanna come with me?’ … or something like that,’” Gault said. “And then, once they get into a car to do whatever it is that they’re going to do, at some point or another, they don’t know what happened when they wake up.”