State Legislature must vote against anti-transgender bills
I fear for the safety of my 23-year-old transgender grandchild. She lives in Texas, and the state Legislature has proposed hostile, anti-transgender bills that, if passed, would seriously harm Texas’ transgender children, families and the medical and psychological specialists who care for them.
Texas has the second-largest trans population in the United States. Discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation is egregious. The most vulnerable among us, our children, can suffer irreparable damage by these hate-filled laws. Depression, anxiety, selfharm and suicide among trans youth become worse without gender-affirming care by a health care practitioner. Texas Children’s Hospital reported 51 percent of transgender males and 30 percent of transgender females (ages 11-19) attempted suicide at least once in their lifetime. Supportive care can mean the difference between life and death.
Anti-LGBTQ laws, passed around from state to state by the GOP’s Freedom Caucus, attack families everywhere. These are religious views that foster specific ideas based on “God-given” laws. Separation of church and state is an issue in a state that claims 64 percent of its population observes some form of religious indoctrination.
The prejudice against the
LGBTQ community is evident by a legislative branch that creates bills attacking the foundation of family life. Individuals who have no trans friends or shun these folks must understand that we can have mutual respect and discover our shared interests by opening their hearts and minds to those who don’t fit inside our previously constructed gender norms.
We must fight to prevent the passage of this discriminatory legislation.
House Bill 68 and HB1399 deny affirmative health care for transitioning youth and criminalizing medical and psychological
professionals who provide transition services.
Our right to protection under HIPAA, a federal law, mandates that health information is private and protected. A doctor or therapist is bound by confidentiality when treating patients. Does this mean that if a medical assistant or neighbor learns that a medical professional provides transition care for a child, the state can arrest that professional?
Senate Bill 373 and HB1458 prevent trans youth from participating in sports based on the gender identity listed on their birth certificate.
Sports programs in school encourage participation and team building. Children learn to develop endurance and talent through school sports programs, whether male or female. The discrimination of such young athletes is a stigma that will do irreparable damage mentally and physically to a child.
These ideas are unscientific and cruel and hark back to the failed attempts in 2017 at passing the bathroom bill in Texas. Not allowing trans children to participate in sports prevents them from forming friendships, better health outcomes and learning the importance of teamwork. Children don’t need more harassment. They need all the benefits that a healthy childhood provides.
HB610 and House Joint Resolution 33 undermine local nondiscrimination ordinances, which protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
HB70 and HJR6 would undermine state agencies inclined to create protections for LGBTQ+ people.
HB1424 and SB247 would exempt specific individuals from following the law if their religious, moral or ethical beliefs prevented them from providing services to the LGBTQ community.
We derive maximum benefit from our society by including all voices and talent to the collective whole. President Joe Biden has nominated Dr. Rachel Levine, the first trans woman, as assistant health secretary. He has reversed the transgender ban for troops serving in the military, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Such discrimination is also prohibited under other federal laws relating to housing, education and immigration, so long as they “do not contain sufficient indications to the contrary.” The EO13895 further directs all federal agencies’ leaders to review existing regulations, orders and guidance to ensure that they are consistent in their protection of LGBT status and, if necessary, take administrative actions to revise them accordingly.
The family unit does not need “protection” from the state. Families determine how best to care for and nurture their children. It is a sacred privilege and requires the community’s sustained support (friends, neighbors, the educational system, medical professionals and state lawmakers.) As Margaret Mead once said, “We need to listen and care for children, to keep their imagination fresh and their hearts young, and to make the future a reality for which they are willing to work.”