Crushing Anti Trans Bills Across The United States

Since the beginning of the year, many anti-trans bills have been passed across the country. 378 bills and counting have been proposed in 42 states according to the site Track Trans Legislation. The majority of these bills are related to healthcare for those under the age of eighteen. 

 

In a blog post by maia arson crimew a trans developer and hacker on March 8, 2023 she shared 2600 pages of emails from several right-wing lawmakers and anti-trans experts. Her post here goes into more depth on the emails and links the files with the emails. These emails start back in 2019 and mainly discuss an attempt to pass a healthcare ban for trans youth. The emails discuss the attempts to pass the bills while staying under the radar. 

 

However, healthcare bans are not the only bills being proposed. Bathroom bills deny access to public bathrooms based on gender. These bills do not only restrict trans people but also cisgender people. Drag bans not only ban drag performance but restrict people who are gender non-conforming. Schooling bills ban the teaching of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity; these bills also require teachers to out transgender students to their parents. Sex designation bills restrict the ability to update IDs to match a person’s preferred gender. All of these bills are harmful not just to the trans community but to anyone whose gender is mistaken. 

 

Why are these bills so harmful? According to the National Library of Medicine, 82% of transgender people experience suicidal ideation. Stress has been found to be a major contributor to suicide and suicidal ideation, and the current situation in the United States is extremely stressful for those affected. To prevent further harm, transgender individuals and their allies need to band together to protect each other and speak out against these bills.