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“They’re not pretending anymore that they care about the efficacy of puberty blockers or whatever… Kay Ivey just came out and said she doesn’t believe trans kids should exist, because that’s not how God made them.”īut this could actually be good news. “They’re saying the quiet part out loud,” said Cathryn Oakley, HRC’s state legislative director. And, for good measure, we go against God’s plan. (LGBTQ icon Harvey Milk turned that charge on its head, telling gay people in 1977 that he wanted to recruit them to be activists for their civil rights.) We’re mentally ill. In fact, as new as this wave of laws may seem, a lot of the rhetoric is actually quite old.Īs far back as Anita Bryant in the 1970s and anti-gay paranoia of the 1950s and ’60s, conservatives attacked gay people the same way they’re attacking trans people and “groomers” today. The way the campaign is unfolding reflects that. We are part of folks’ communities, workplaces, churches, and schools. As a trans person, I see that in a powerful way…. We are more visible and more open about who we are. But a lot of this is also rooted in our success. So consider these your marching orders.įirst, it’s obvious that this wave of attacks is largely about pandering to the Republican party’s base of religious fundamentalists (who comprise over half of the party) and angry, white populists who are scared and resentful of any change from how things used to be.Īs Brown put it, “Of course, our opponents are using these tactics in advance of the midterms in the hope they can turn out their extremist base. In other words, it’s going to be up to you. But, to put it bluntly, it’s going to take a lot more people giving a shit about this war on queer people, and voting, speaking out, and getting their friends to do the same, than we’ve seen so far. The LGBTQ activists I spoke with were optimistic, in some ways: they’ve seen the Christian Right and the Republican Party run this playbook before, and they’ve beaten it before. So how can LGBTQ people, activists, and allies fight back? It is hard to find the words for how damaging these laws and policies are.” “At the essence, these laws are trying to make sure no trans person exists: providing no support for us in our early lives, making medically necessary health care a felony, prohibiting even mental healthcare. Jay Brown, a senior vice president at the Human Rights Campaign, said that as a trans man, he “shares the fear and despair” that many are feeling right now. They Marched in America’s First Pride Demonstrations in 1970.