The Republicans are declaring war on trans people – that’s what’s behind it

The payment

The number of anti-trans laws in the US has been on the rise for some time now. But this year, Republican lawmakers are cracking down on trans people like never before. In 2023, the total will break a record for the fourth year in a row:

The Trans Legislation Tracker website maintains a log of all submissions against trans laws to draw attention to their problematic content. They also make the amount clear: More than 492 anti-trans laws have already been passed in 47 states in the current legislature. That is already more than twice as much as in the whole of last year.

Trans Legislation Tracker founder Andrew Bales sees this as a dangerous development. He tells Vice:

The laws

As the website Trans Legislation points out, 492 anti-trans laws have already been passed this year. What do they contain and what do they need? A closer look at six anti-trans laws.

House Resolution 115

House Resolution 115 is a federal bill aimed at establishing narrow biological definitions of male and female. The bill, which entered the House of Representatives on February 9, reads as follows:

It goes on to say that “recent misguided court decisions” on the definition of “gender” have resulted in “a threat to spaces and resources” for women. The law should therefore provide that…

The vote on the draft is still pending.

North Dakota Senate Bill 2199

North Dakota Republican Senator David Clemens is a thorn in the side of transgender people and their pronouns. As a result, he filed bill SB2199 in January, which would have him fined $1,500 when you address trans people with their correct pronouns. Under the bill, they should be addressed with the pronouns they were given at birth.

The law would apply to institutions that receive government funding, such as public schools. In other words, if teachers use the correct pronouns for their trans students or staff, they risk a fine.

The bill states:

The Senate Judiciary Committee recommended that the bill not pass because it was poorly written and difficult to enforce. However, it eventually went to the Senate, where it was defeated on January 20 by a vote of 39 to 8.

Bills 129 and 613 of the Oklahoma Senate

Republican Senator David Bullard introduced Senate Bill 129 in Oklahoma on January 4. This bill is aimed at employees in care and care prohibits them from providing gender reassignment treatments to trans people under the age of 26. Simply referring trans patients to other healthcare professionals can be punishable. The punishment ranges from a $1,000 fine to two years in prison.

However, Bullard makes an exception in a bill: sex reassignment surgery on intersex children – i.e. children born with two sexes – can be performed without their consent.

After protests against the law in Oklahoma, Bullard announced that the bill had lowered the age from 26 to 18. The bill is now before the Senate as Senate Bill 613.

Tennessee House Bills 0009 & 0001

Several anti-trans laws are still pending in Tennessee, with two already passed in early May. A new law prohibits minors from undergoing sex reassignment treatments.

The second law concerns drag shows. The shows described in the template as “adult cabinet” are banned from public spaces from April 1. In addition, locations must be at least 300 meters from schools and kindergartens. Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson explained the bill as follows on Twitter:

Kentucky Senate Bill 150

Another law was passed amid great uproar in the state of Kentucky.

Senate Bill 150 is considered one of the strictest and most aggressive to date and contains the following points:

Both the House and Senate passed the bill on March 16, after which it was presented to Democratic Governor Andy Beshear. Instead of signing the bill into law, he vetoed it on March 24.

He justified his decision with that the bill allows too much government interference in personal health matters and depriving parents of the freedom to make medical decisions for their children.

He also emphasizes the high suicide rate among LGBTQ youth: almost one in five young transgenders would have attempted suicide by 2022. He then cites the American Medical Association, which reports…

Andy Beshear sees the mental health of trans youth at risk if the bill passes. In his veto he warns:

After being vetoed, the bill went back to the two chambers, who voted on it again. In Kentucky, a simple majority of both houses can override the governor’s veto power over a bill. And that’s exactly what happened on Thursday.

Almost all points of the law come into effect immediately. Only sex reassignment treatments are prohibited from the end of June. At this point, doctors should also reverse such treatments.

The consequences

Transgender people are already frequently harassed and threatened. The American right is fueling this incitement even more with the increasingly common term “trans-terrorism.” For example, after the shooting in Tennessee, the focus was not on lax gun laws, but on the fact that the shooter identified as trans.

Against this background, it is not surprising that the crackdown on transgender people is also gaining momentum at the legislative level: so far this year 25 anti-trans laws have been passed and 43 rejected. The decision is still pending on more than 424 laws.

While many of the bills are unlikely to pass, the trend is alarming. Chase Strangio, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, tells the New York Times:

Activists also fear that the most aggressive bills, even if they never go into effect, will pave the way for later bills. Milder bills can seem like compromises, even if they gradually restrict the rights of transgender people.