SALT LAKE CITY — Crowds of people came together on the icy steps of the capitol building to peacefully protest the legislature’s ban on transgender-related health care for minors on Wednesday evening. 

The LGBTQ+ community along with allies said they were there to show opposition to Gov. Spencer Cox’s decision to sign into law a bill that restricts minors’ access to transgender-related surgeries and hormone blockers. 

“They want to erase these people from existence so we can have a generation of children who don’t even realize this is normal,” said Adam Staurt who attended the rally. “And when they grow up, they continue thinking it is abnormal,” Staurt told KSL NewsRadio. 

Specifically,  S.B. 16, bans gender-confirming surgeries as well as prohibits puberty blockers for minors.

Cox signed the bill into law over the weekend saying other states and countries around the world are also pausing treatments for children because more research is needed on the potential long-term impacts. 

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