Good Morning, y’all.
Yes, there is a lot going on for all of us, and you should pay attention to the conservative war on transgendered children underway. The right, who continues to position themselves as defenders of the Christian faith and protectors of children, are introducing and passing laws that limit transgender children’s rights and access to a full education and healthcare, among other things. They are legislating actively to harm children. They are neither acting in their professed Christian way nor in the best interest of children.
Photo: Kristine Hansen. Mug: Society6
Yesterday, HB 1570 was passed in both chambers in the Arkansas legislature. The bill bans trans youth from accessing health care and health insurance coverage. At least 11 other states have proposed or are debating similar laws.
In 2020, Idaho passed a ban on transgender women and girls participating in women’s sports. Courts have blocked that law for now, but 25 states, including Tennessee, Oklahoma, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Kentucky, introduced similar bans. South Dakota’s governor killed the law and then enacted an executive order that places restrictions on trans youth participation in sports. The Arkansas governor signed that state’s law, which prohibits transgender participation on female teams from kindergarten through college.
These particular laws or executive orders are sought under the guise of equity in sports participation for girls and young women. They are attempting to legislate a problem that doesn’t exist. (Read Megan Rapinoe’s Op-Ed, “Bills to ban transgender kids from sports try to solve a problem that doesn’t exist”)
Using religion, junk science, and the words of TERFs to defend these actions, conservative politicians will continue to work to limit trans youth’s access to a full life. This is hate. This is discrimination. This is harmful. There is no love in these actions. There is no care. There are only small-minded actors with a limited view of humanity and people. Limited views that want to keep us all in a binary and dependent.
March 31 (tomorrow) is International Transgender Day of Visibility, an annual event dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, as well as a celebration of their contributions to society. Support the Trans community.
Stand up for trans youth. Make calls. Donate time. Donate money. Learn about the issues and start talking to others.
Resources:
Trans Student Educational Resources. https://transstudent.org
National Center for Transgender Equality. https://transequality.org
El/La Para TransLatinas. https://ellaparatranslatinas.org
Transgender Law Center. https://transgenderlawcenter.org
TGI Justice Project. http://www.tgijp.org
Transgender Law and Policy Institute. http://www.transgenderlaw.org
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project. https://srlp.org
Megan Rapinoe’s Op-Ed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../megan-rapinoe.../