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The Right's Fight to Eliminate Trans People is Only

One Piece of the Puzzle

The states of Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas are going a step further and attempting to ban gender-affirming care for people up to age 26. These legislators believe transexuals have mental illnesses and need psychotherapy, not hormone blockers or surgeries. Terry Schilling of the American Principles Project, which helps lawmakers create anti-trans legislation, stated, "We don't believe that men can change into women based off of removing body parts or changing our hormone makeup." Despite lawmakers thinking they know what's best, at least 29 medical organizations have put out statements supporting gender-affirming care for transgender people, including the American Medical Association, World Health Organization, Endocrine Society, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In contrast, finding even one medical association that believes gender-affirming care should be banned is difficult.

Republicans are not only attempting to deny the existence of trans people by claiming they have a mental illness that can be cured with psychotherapy, they are also downright demonizing them. At least 26 bills that target drag shows are working their way through the legislatures of 14 states. Some bills would ban children from drag shows, claiming they are adult-oriented or sexually explicit performances. The Idaho Family Policy Center president compared them to strippers, "even if their body parts are not exposed." Conservative fanatics have further vilified drag queens, even seeking to ban them from reading stories to children by saying they are "recruiting" or "grooming" children. By associating drag queens with pedophiles, Republicans have effectively turned public sentiment against transgender people. A poll released in June of 2022 showed that since 2021, the percentage of people who believe a person's gender is determined at birth has increased from 56% to 60%. The poll also found that people who hold this view are more likely to reject laws protecting trans people from discrimination. This demonstrates that by demonizing transgender people, Republicans have made it more palatable for the government to strip them of their rights.

Even the extreme right's traditionalist views of women harken back to the Nazi era. Hitler and his Nazis believed the role of women was to "marry, procreate, and raise children." When women pushed for equal rights and equal pay, Hitler said, "The granting of equal rights to women, which Marxism demands, in reality, does not grant equal rights … it instead constitutes a deprivation of rights, since it draws women into realms of society where they are inferior. The woman has her own battlefield. With every child that she brings into the world, she fights her battle for the nation." Republican lawmakers are blatantly rolling back women's rights to control their bodies and attempting to force them back into the home and out of professional and political life. They have long tried to restrict women's access to birth control by finding loopholes allowing them to refuse insurance coverage. Republicans packed the Supreme Court, leading to the Court overturning the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. They have restricted women's access to abortions and other life-saving healthcare without exceptions for rape. The right has put bounties on the heads of women and anyone who aids them in getting an abortion (even in states where it's legal). They are currently trying to take life-saving medications away that are used both for medication abortions and to treat miscarriages. By increasing women's likelihood of getting pregnant while also taking away the means of ending unwanted pregnancies, right-wing fanatics' laws will negatively affect women's and children's physical and mental health, cause significant setbacks to women's careers, destroy women's financial stability, and force them back into a position where they are dependent on men. This will force women back into the home where all their energy will be consumed taking care of babies rather than pushing for equal rights.

Republicans cloak their legislation in the guise of protecting women and children, claiming they're restoring morality to American society. In reality, they're targeting and vilifying a vulnerable and historically persecuted population to galvanize their base against the perceived immorality of the left and further divide the American people. To further contrast themselves with liberal heathens, they push the idea that Christians and Christian values are under attack, and they hold up drag queen story hours as their proof. By equating liberalism with sexual perversion, killing babies, destroying family values, and crucifying white children for the sins of their ancestors, Republicans paint a picture of a grand battle between good and evil. They claim that conservatives are the only true Americans and that liberals are not only un-American but are actively trying to destroy America and Christianity. In doing so, they are quite literally tearing America apart. They are laying the groundwork for extreme social control and the dismissal of fundamental human rights for large swaths of people in this country. After all, if you're un-American, why should the Constitution protect you? Conservatives are not likely to defend the rights of "evil" people they see as enemies.

Restricting people's freedom of speech with book bans and laws governing what teachers and professors can teach is un-American. Persecuting a group of people for their choice of dress is un-American. Laws controlling what people can choose to do to their bodies is un-American. Forcing women to endure unwanted pregnancies and childbirth is un-American. Basing laws and policies on Christian dogma is un-American. Incentivizing neighbors to turn against one another for money is un-American. Overturning 50 years of established precedent and making far-reaching legal decisions without consistency is un-American. Attempting to negate a free and fair election through violent means is un-American. Yet, people in America continue to elect leaders who pledge to do these un-American things.

We should all fear the road Americans are taking, and we are heading there at full speed. Now is the time to hit the breaks. If we wait, it will be too late. Our leaders will not be the ones to turn the country around. It's up to each American to do what it takes to convince our friends, family, and neighbors to return to the American way. We have to convince them that everyone is entitled to free speech. Everyone is entitled to dress and live the way they see fit. Everyone is entitled to control their body. Everyone is worthy of dignity and respect.

We must lay bare the lies that conservative lawmakers and Fox "News" are spewing to create strife. We must expose conservatives to other perspectives and find common ground so they can see liberals want the same things they do. Just like conservatives, liberals want to live as they see fit. We want the opportunity to work hard and prosper. We want financial stability. We want a good education for our kids and safe schools and neighborhoods for them to grow up in. We want to be healthy and have access to healthcare. We want our votes to count and our voices to be heard. Those are all things Americans should be able to agree on.

When the economy is in crisis, inflation is high, and people have a hard time making ends meet, it's easy to find someone to blame rather than to attempt to understand our predicament's various, complicated, and intertangled causes. Time and time again, immoral, power-hungry leaders have used times of economic and social stress to consolidate political power by providing the populace with an enemy to blame and claiming that they alone can lead the country to salvation. In desperation, people buy into this ploy and willingly compromise the rights of the few in hopes that their own fortunes will improve. But to compromise the rights of the few is to compromise what it means to be American. To be American is to believe in and uphold the Constitution and the idea that all men and women are created equal and entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There is nothing more un-American than to sacrifice the rights of Americans. The only way to fix America is for Americans to put in the hard work, day in and day out, of convincing others to respect one another and return to the American principles that this nation was founded on. Don't let one more day pass without confronting this issue head-on. Reach out to the people you know and engage them in a discussion. Reason with them, fight with them, and don't give up on them. 

Let's blanket the country with support for our fellow LGBTQ Americans

We have to make our support for the LGBTQ community visible! The more Americans who openly support LGBTQ people, the faster we will increase acceptance and empathy toward them. Support our allies in the fight for equality!!!

“Strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others.”

― Suzy Kassem

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Your children can follow Bellatrix on her biggest adventures all while learning to love and respect themselves as well as those around them. They will also learn new and interesting words that will help their vocabularies grow! Don't forget to download your free activity book with each purchase!!!

Legislation and Court Cases to Watch