Rogue politicians target LGBTQ+ community rights in bills nationwide

Marjorie Taylor Greene, others open direct fire against the community; Over 451 bills against our people; Texas: 51; Missouri: 48; Oklahoma: 35; Iowa: 29; Tennessee 26; Mississippi: 24, & even in Massachusetts

By: Nicole Lashomb* TRT Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Karollyne Hubert/Unsplash

2023 is already a record year for anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S. (especially against trans youth). Currently, there are a whopping 451 of them, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), https://is.gd/SbKhsg. And, the agenda they’ve had is clear and it goes from bottom to top— from local government all the way to the Supreme Court and Clarence Thomas’ stance and intentions on it. These officials are in bed with the extreme and hypocritical “Christian” right—and at war with anyone else. They assault our community’s rights mercilessly, while they leave intact the rights of rapists, domestic violence abusers, white supremacists, traitors, pedophiles, etc.

So, when many members of the LGBTQIA+, PoC and women communities voice their refusal to live (or continue to) in Texas, they are justified to do so. Texas is the state with the highest number of anti-LGBTQ bills this year—all 51 of them, to be exact.

These Tx. bills are specifically worded in such a way as to target rights that relate to “public school library materials; public school employee's refusal to participate in certain inclusivity policies; regulations and policies for entering or using a bathroom; parental rights and public school responsibilities regarding instructional materials; protecting individuals from participation in a health care services for reasons of conscience; health benefit plan coverage for and prohibitions on gender transitioning procedures and treatments provided to certain individuals; cause of action for drag performances performed in the presence of minors; health benefit plan coverage for and prohibitions on gender transitioning procedures; requiring students who compete in intercollegiate athletic competitions to do so based on biological sex; prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at public institutions of higher education; the use of the terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ of certain government documents; the inclusion of a person's sex on a birth certificate; the definition of child abuse; authorizing disciplinary, criminal and/or civil actions” in most cases, and more.

Although the Christian right seeks to deny other individuals’ rights, they are not keen to propose or pass stringent bills relating to pornography, extra-marital affairs, cosmetic surgery based on vanity, dissatisfaction with appearance, aging, genitalia enhancement, and reduction, etc. It is ok for them to take their children to have elective surgery and do so themselves, for those are their prerogatives. But, the same doesn’t apply to the collective. And why don’t these states allot monies and bills to punish rape for what it is?

If these bills were targeting any other minority group in the nation, drastic measures would have been taken to halt or limit them.

During LGBTQ History Month, we should celebrate the progress we’ve made throughout the years but still be keenly aware that our history is still currently being written today. We must prepare for what’s to come.

We should summon our allies residing within these states and commonwealths to take stances, protest and use the strongest weapon there is to battle against the warmongers in these very divided states—their vote. It is only through political participation and discourse that we can curb the passage of these bills. We should lobby for those who are pro-equality to use all legal means possible to keep this vitriol from moving forward.

Lives are at stake—especially LGBQ and trans youth of color. The risk for trans people to commit suicide is already higher than that of any other community. Add to that the fact that trans people of color, specifically trans women, are murdered at significantly higher rates as well. These are issues we have been publishing about and sounding the alarm for over a decade. These stories are not always breaking news, but it is a gradual, never-ending current that has become so strong, we are drowning in the process. It is undeniable that the rhetoric and the violence and the insurmountable number of bills proposed and passed this year are like no other seen before in queer history.

We should summon our allies residing within these states and commonwealths to take stances, protest and use the strongest weapon there is to battle against the war mongers in these very divided states—their vote. It is only through political participation and discourse that we can curb the passage of these bills. We should lobby for those who are pro-equality to use all legal means possible to keep this vitriol from moving forward.

However, it goes beyond strictly LGBTQ+ issues ...

Read the rest of this story at TheRainbowTimesMass.com