Thursday, March 28

Thousands of parents condemn state legislative attacks on trans and nonbinary youth


Thousands of parents from all 50 states on Wednesday denounced a wave of anti-trans legislation moving through state legislatures in an open letter organized by the Human Rights Campaign.

AP


“Today, as parents who care about the well-being of all children — transgender, non-binary and cisgender — we are raising our voices in unity against extremist, discriminatory actions by lawmakers putting transgender children in harm’s way,” reads a portion of the letter, signed by more than 7,000 parents of trans children, as well as allies.

Parents in the letter criticize recent legislation targeting transgender youth, calling out bills in Alabama, Ohio and Arizona that would make providing gender-affirming care to minors a felony. The letter also condemns an order by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) directing state agencies to investigate gender-affirming healthcare as child abuse.

Abbott’s order, along with an opinion by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), has also been denounced by the White House.


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“These are not real policy conversations,” parents argue in the letter. “They’re attacks on the very existence of transgender children.”

The existence of transgender individuals more generally has been debated by other lawmakers on the right, and Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) – who also served as the state’s governor from 2011 to 2019 – late last month in an 11-point plan for Republicans wrote that “men are men” and “women are women.”

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More than 200 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community – particularly LGBTQ+ youth – have been introduced in state legislatures this year, including more than 30 bills seeking to restrict access to gender-affirming health care for minors and 50 bills aiming to bar transgender youth from competing in student athletics.

In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem (R) in early February signed the year’s first transgender sports ban into law. Another, in Indiana, is on its way to the governor’s desk after advancing through the state legislature.

Parents in the letter also push back against Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which is known to its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. While proponents of the bill have argued its sole intent is to shield children from “inappropriate” classroom discussion and give parents a larger role in their child’s education, opponents have accused the proposed legislation of targeting LGBTQ+ people.

“Ironically, lots of politicians are talking about ‘parents’ rights’ these days, especially when it comes to making education and healthcare decisions for children,” the letter reads. “If having rights as parents means anything, it has to mean that we are able to provide our children with the evidence-based medical care they need. It has to mean that we can openly affirm that they are wonderful as they are and that we’re right beside them on their journey.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Human Rights Campaign Interim President Joni Madison said politicians nationwide are making the “unconscionable choice to jeopardize the well-being of those children to score political points.”

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“Parents who affirm their transgender kids’ identity do so because it is what is in their child’s best interest,” she said.


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