All articles tagged with #anti trans legislation
House Republicans are advancing sweeping anti-trans bills, including measures that could jail doctors for providing gender-affirming care to minors and ban such care altogether, amid concerns about their impact on families and youth mental health, though the bills are unlikely to become law.
Transgender Awareness Week highlights the crisis facing the transgender community, exacerbated by the 2024 presidential election's anti-trans rhetoric. This has led to increased fear, anxiety, and a surge in calls to crisis hotlines. The community is bracing for potential anti-trans legislation and restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare. Organizations are providing support and resources to help transgender individuals navigate these challenges, while violence against the community has also risen, prompting calls for increased safety measures.
Missouri has become the epicenter of anti-trans legislation, with Republican lawmakers proposing 49 bills targeting transgender people in the first three weeks of January. The bills cover a wide range of issues, from healthcare to public facilities, and reflect a nationwide trend of increased anti-trans legislation. Despite the low priority of transgender issues for voters, the Republican party has intensified its focus on this issue, disregarding electoral consequences and its own principles. This shift has led to a wave of legislation that threatens the rights and freedoms of transgender individuals across the United States.
The drafting of an anti-transgender law in Kansas aimed at preventing gender marker changes on driver's licenses was botched, according to a state agency's lawyer. The law, which conflicts with another law governing driver's licenses, took effect on July 1. Despite the new law, Democratic Governor Laura Kelly announced that Kansas would continue to change transgender people's driver's licenses to reflect their gender identities. Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit against the Department of Revenue in an attempt to prevent such changes. A judge issued an order to temporarily stop the changes, but the state agency is seeking to have the order rescinded. The Department of Revenue has reported that over 500 people have changed their gender markers on their licenses since July 2019.
A library in Montana has canceled a transgender history event featuring Adria Jawort due to fears of violating a new law that bans events put on by "flamboyant" performers. The law has wide-ranging effects, sidelining not only trans performers and drag queens but potentially transgender voices entirely. If found to be in violation of the law, library officials said they would be at risk of losing public funding. Jawort testified against the bill before it passed, stating that it would target trans people, including herself.
San Francisco has named D’Arcy Drollinger as the first drag laureate in the US, a position designed to represent the city’s famous LGBTQ+ community at a time when rights are under attack. Drollinger, a well-known drag performer and nightclub owner, will receive a $55,000 stipend in her 18-month role as the city’s inaugural drag laureate. Her duties will span from producing and participating in drag events to serving as a spokesperson for San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community to helping officials to ensuring the city’s drag history is “shared, honored and preserved.”
Molly Kearney, the first nonbinary cast member of "Saturday Night Live," used their Weekend Update segment to criticize the wave of anti-trans legislation sweeping the US. Kearney flew in on a harness and joked about the crew's confusion over their pronouns before discussing the importance of trans kids' rights and healthcare. Kearney's appearance was part of an episode hosted by Ana de Armas and featuring Karol G as the musical guest.
SNL's first non-binary cast member, Molly Kearney, used their appearance on Weekend Update to criticize the anti-transgender legislation being passed in states around America. Kearney slammed politicians trying to eliminate healthcare for transgender youth and called out the wave of states restricting gender-affirming care to children in recent weeks. Kearney said the laws are dangerous for the country’s youth and don’t protect them in the way politicians claim they do. The commentary from Kearney comes as trans rights has become a hot issue around the county in recent months.
North Dakota's Republican Governor, Doug Burgum, signed two laws that prohibit transgender girls and women from joining female sports teams in K-12 and college. At least 19 other states have similar restrictions. The Biden administration's proposed rule change would allow schools to block some transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender identities, but would prevent across-the-board bans. The issue is part of a broader push by Republican state lawmakers to regulate the lives of transgender people, with over 800 anti-LGBTQ bills being tracked by the Human Rights Campaign.
Kelsea Ballerini showed support for the LGBTQIA+ community by bringing out Drag Race stars for her performance at the 2023 CMT Awards. This comes as right-wing politicians introduce anti-trans and anti-queer legislation, including "drag bans," in state houses across the country. Texas, where the awards were held, is considering a similar ban that could apply to any performance deemed "drag."
Kentucky state Senator Karen Berg, who lost her transgender son to suicide in 2022, fought against Senate Bill 150, which bans all gender-affirming medical care for trans youth in Kentucky, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The bill also restricts which bathrooms students can use and puts limits on discussing gender and sexuality in public schools. Despite protests and lobbying, the bill was passed by Republican colleagues, with only one Republican senator voting against it. The recent wave of anti-trans legislation has been described as an obsession among most Republicans, but the transgender community vows to keep fighting.
A Trans Visibility march was held in Portland to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility and show support for transgender kids amid the rise of anti-trans legislation across the country. Organizers emphasized the negative impact of such legislation on the mental health of trans youth and the importance of reversing its effects. The event drew dozens of people of all ages and orientations, and aimed to show that trans individuals are not alone in their struggles.
Kentucky lawmakers have passed a bill that restricts how doctors and schools treat transgender youths, overriding the governor's veto and objections by state medical associations, education officials, and parents with trans children. The law bans access to gender-affirming health care for trans children, restricts which bathrooms and lockers they use, prohibits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, and allows teachers to use students' birth names and pronouns against their wishes. The law's passage comes amid a record-breaking number of anti-trans bills appearing across the country.