Happy Hour News

Transgender Day of Visibility

Today is Trans Visibility Day, and as a way of reminding us that nothing is ever easy, Axios has a big round up of anti-trans legislation in the 50 states:

The sudden flood of state-level efforts to restrict transgender rights is being fueled by many of the Christian and conservative groups that led the charge against Roe v. Wade.

Why it matters: Groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel and the American Principles Project are behind a multimillion-dollar effort targeting LGBTQ rights through “parents’ rights” bills.

Yup, many of our old adversaries in theocracy are geared-up and fighting again.

What they’re saying: The groups say they aim to shape policy based on their theological and conservative beliefs around sex, gender and family.

• Many Republicans have embraced that agenda, touting a “protect the children” platform for 2024 that targets school policies on gender identity and how racial issues are taught.
• Travis Weber, the Family Research Council’s vice president for policy and government affairs, said Christian activists aren’t seeking to impose their beliefs on others — they’re fighting against beliefs being imposed on them.
• “These ideas are presented to their children without their consent,” Weber said. “Americans are reacting to what they are seeing, and it’s being reflected in some of these laws moving.”

Zoom in: The activist groups’ imprint on hundreds of anti-trans bills in legislatures is clear, according to the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center.

• The groups have provided witnesses, model legislation, and legal support to defend any measures that become law, said R.G. Cravens, senior research analyst with SPLC’s Intelligence Project.
• Arkansas state Rep. Mary Bentley (R) told Axios NW Arkansas reporter Worth Sparkman that she worked with three of the main Christian groups to craft a measure allowing anyone who receives gender-affirming care as a minor to file a malpractice lawsuit for up to 15 years.
• The bill passed the Arkansas legislature and became law. It’s essentially a workaround effort to ban gender-affirming care while a ban the state-imposed previously is tied up in legal challenges.

The activist groups have raised tens of millions of dollars in recent years to fuel their lobbying on abortion and transgender issues as well as their work with state lawmakers.

• The Alliance Defending Freedom, for example, reported more than $78 million in revenue in 2021, mainly from grants and donations.
• The Family Research Council also gets most of its money through grants and donations. It changed its IRS status to an “association of churches” in 2020 and no longer is required to file a public tax return, ProPublica reports.

That’s a lot of big bucks and the FRC doesn’t have to report where its money comes from, and neat-o, they are now a church and it is non-taxable.  Nice work if you can get it.

As always, the hate seems to be coming from the South (and midwest)

The new laws are mainly in the South and Midwest. They were approved over objections from critics who say the laws are cruel, unconstitutional and could lead to more suicides among transgender youths — whose rates already are 7.6 times higher than other youths.

Anyway, instead of my cherry-picking, you can read the whole article in their fast brevity format. There’s a lot more there to unpack, and to the authors credit they link out to all of their sources so you can verify if you want.

As Valerie Mars said on Mastodon earlier:

Remember folks, way too often the bigots conflate drag performers with trans women, when they are not the same.

Drag queens are collateral damage in a war against trans women. And trans women are the easiest target in a war against ALL women.

It’s a point worth noting. It’s all part of the same battle.