KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri leaders took part in the first trans community town hall Tuesday.

It comes the same day Governor Mike Parson signed two bills blocking transgender treatments for minors and athletes in women’s sports.

One bill bans transgender care for minors. Medicaid will no longer cover it for adults either. The other bill Parson signed banned transgender women from competing in women’s sports from kindergarten through college. Event participant Nikki Ruiz had not heard of the bills being signed before she got to the center.

The group Transformations hosted the event at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center off of Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard.

The goal is to try to help trans women with the problems they face in society by creating a safer space for them.

“I think those are extremely transphobic laws in my opinion,” she said before she walked into the town hall room Wednesday. “Denying minors care is denying them health care.”

Ruiz said she felt like she needed to make her presence known by coming.

“Especially being LGBT+ myself, I feel like even though I’m not Trans, fighting for my Trans brothers and sisters is super-duper important.”

Mayor Quinton Lucas was also in attendance. He said the two bills the governor signed Wednesday will harm Missourians.

“I see this as a sad day for Missouri, one that we will go on to regret, one that will be reversed long term. I think there will be others who do,” Lucas said when asked if the city will sue the state. “When you look at private healthcare decisions, that seems to always be something that will lead to later litigation, so I think we will have more conversation on that.”

The 4 to 5 p.m. portion was supposed to be unavailable to the media, but that turned out not to be the case. It was supposed to last for three hours.

Parson says he signed Senate Bill 39 to protect the integrity of women’s sports. He says he signed Senate Bill 49 to protect children from potentially harmful surgeries.