Pride month is over, but Republican nonsense continues, with a truly disturbing number of anti-transgender bills and legislation being introduced in Congress in recent weeks.
As Moira Warburton and Rose Horowitch of Reuters reported, three separate bills have been introduced “that would block federal funding to colleges where transgender women are allowed to participate in sports with cisgender women… would allow transgender people to sue medical personnel who helped them transition as minors… would block funding to schools that disobey state laws regarding ‘materials harmful to minors,’ mimicking state laws that have been used to remove books discussing history around race and LGBT themes.”
The worst part is that some of these bills are hard to find, in particular due to subversive wording. Here’s some examples:
The incorrectly named “Stop Child Abuse Act (H.R. 8212)” would “rescind the Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals, and for other purposes.” You can find the executive order being referred to at this link, which is an executive order condemning conversion therapy. Troy Nehls, the Republican U.S. Representative who is the main sponsor of the bill, hails from Texas’ 22nd congressional district and, funnily enough, you cannot email him unless you verify you live within his congressional district.
The supposed “My Child, My Choice Act of 2022 (H.R. 7662)” would “prohibit Federal education funds from being provided to elementary schools that do not require teachers to obtain written parental consent prior to teaching lessons specifically related to gender identity, sexual orientation, or transgender studies, and for other purposes.” This bill is being sponsored by Rep. Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey’s 2nd congressional district, 2020 election denier. Here’s the link to email him if you live in his district or state.
Similarly, the “Empower Parents to Protect Their Kids Act of 2022 (H.R. 8170)” would “require elementary schools and secondary schools that receive Federal funds to obtain parental consent before facilitating a child’s gender transition in any form, and for other purposes.” This bill is sponsored by Jim Banks, representative of Indiana’s third congressional district, who was banned from Twitter for misgendering Rachel Levine, the first female and first transgender four-star admiral in the Commissioned Corps.—yet another 2020 election denier and representative who will only allow contact from within his district.
Reuters also reports, “Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would block federal funding to colleges where transgender women are allowed to participate in sports with cisgender women. A separate bill would allow transgender people to sue medical personnel who helped them transition as minors.”
This is part of push at both a state and federal level to seemingly punish transgender students and athletes and censor what can be discussed in the classroom, denying students and children safe spaces to express themselves outside of the home. This is yet another demonstration of how “progress” is not linear and freedom is not free, and both must be fought for every day. So far, Republicans have carried out most of these attacks at the state government level, but if they regain control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections, we can expect them to move forward with efforts like these at the federal level, though we can also expect President Biden to veto them.
It’s disheartening, but something that I do find encouraging is the fact that despite hundreds of these bills being proposed at the state and federal level, most of the bills end up dead, vetoed, or struck down. We just have to work extra hard to hold the line and make sure none get through, especially with a Supreme Court that would be of no help if these bills did make it into law.
(Matt Hrkac/Flickr (CC BY).)
