So, here’s the thing. Trump’s team does not need to put trans folks in concentration camps to destroy us. It is far, far easier:
1) Bathroom legislation prevents us from moving around. Especially when they are encouraged with bounties to incentivize nabbing cis-passing folks. (Bounties sound ridiculous? Lots of states’ first attempts at these laws included bounties. It is a Real Thing )
2) “1st ammendment / religious freedom” laws prevent us from accessing goods and services.
3) Abolishing Obamacare prevents the poorest among us to access any transition-related healthcare. Pressure on insurers and health providers to drop trans healthcare prevents the rest of us from access.
4) Forbid trans people from changing their legal documents to match their new name and gender. This makes us easier to out.
As a reminder, here is a quote from Ken Blackwell’s org. He is on the Trump transition team:
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“There is no rational or compassionate reason to affirm a distorted psychological self-concept that one’s “gender identity” is different from one’s biological sex.
Neither lawmakers nor counselors, pastors, teachers, nor medical professionals should participate in or reinforce the transgender movement’s lies about sexuality–nor should they be required by the government to support such distortion.“
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The above 4 strategies drive us deeper into poverty and raises an already staggeringly high (over 40%) suicide attempt rate.
Gender id is not a protected class in most states. Trans people have very, very few legal protections. It is still legal in some states to fire us, evict us, and even use the “trans panic” defense to get out of a murder judgment.
Bathroom laws in schools are the easiest to begin with because the young are our most vulnerable and easiest to control, plus the supreme court has yet to decide if gender identity is protected by Title 9. Pay close, close attention to this case (Gavin Grimm, a trans boy) once it begins, as well as Obama’s initiative to direct public schools to give trans kids their bathroom access. If these fail, our trans youth is going to be the first to fall.
Cisgender and want to know how to help?
1) Your trans friends might need help getting their docs changed before January. They’ll have to do a lot in person, so they may need time off, rides to the courthouse, papers notarized, or even a cash loan.
2) Business owners can ask their insurance to cover trans healthcare now, so 1-time things like surgeries can get scheduled asap.
3) Teachers, parents, etc who can sit on school boards can fight trans panic in the bathroom.
4) We need cis voices to combat transphobia wherever it happens, from “jokes” to legislation. And we need cis voices to openly support us and show us we are not alone.
