[Image ID: An individual with long brunette wavy hair, white complexion, pride earrings, and a transgender T-shirt with incomprehensive writing. The individual is white with a gap between the two front teeth. In the background are framed butterflies, a green neon light, and a table with a plant. The video periodically shows images of a painting of Mesopotamia, a orange and grayscale image of Enheduanna, a grayscale image of Lucy Anderson wearing a hat and dress-coat, Michael Millis standing behind a podium, and a large scaled image of a riot near the capitol. End ID]
[Caption ID: The individual says, "We have always been here, and that's the message I want to start off with pride. You see, thousands of years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, the priesthood of Innana, they were made up of transgender priests. And the very first human author Enheduanna whenever the very first time a story was put onto tablets with synbols was written about that priesthood. Transgender people are a part of the DNA of what it means to be human. We have always been here. Fast forward, 2000 years, the empress Elagabalis, a transgender roman Empress, that you never hear about in the history books. Demaned, she be referred to as herself. She went by the title of queen. We have always been here. Fast forward 2000 more years, Lucy Anderson, a black trans woman in 1980, transitioned as a kid. She became the best-known cook and socialite in her town in California. And whenever she was arrested and they found out her assigned sex at birth, all the townspeople gathered up and demanded that she be released because they had a feast to throw that night. We have always been here. And so, whenever we see people like Michael Millis stand in front of seatbelt calling for transgender eradication, that is impossible. Because you can eradicate every last one of us, and we would still be here because we would continue to be reborn. We are a part of what it means to be human. And so, they will still try. They passed all these laws to target us, and yet, look around. They failed. We are still here. They failed to eradicate us. And we will celebrate their failure for an entire month, and our joy will be our resistance. Happy pride. End ID]
The vile transphobic cult told us it was STRICTLY about not wanting kids being trans. No. It never was. Republicans, conservatives, TERF's, and Neo-Nazis all want to genocide trans people through legislation aka mass transgender violence. This was never about the kids. Stay safe, get armed, and be prepared to have trans refugees.
If you are trans or love someone who is trans, I highly recommend you read this article. I've included some steps from the article on how trans people in affected states can help prepare and protect themselves below.
WHAT TO DO:
Many transgender people may be concerned over what to do next if they live in these states. Reading Kris Kobach’s opinion, it is possible to see some ways that the damage can be mitigated in the immediate term. According to The Associated Press, Kobach emphasized that transgender individuals would not have to relinquish documents they already possess, but the documents would not be legally correct.
This also applies to birth certificates. Instead, any new copies of birth certificates or driver's licenses issued in the future would reflect their original gender markers. Consequently, there is an avenue for transgender individuals to safeguard themselves in the short term in these states:
If you live in states that have passed or could pass these laws and have not had your markers changed, it may be prudent to get gender marker changes done now. Contact your local LGBTQ+ organization to learn how - if you are in Tennessee, the Name Change Project may be your best bet until July 1st, 2023.
If your gender marker is already changed, get several copies of your birth certificate. Kobach points out that you would not be required to surrender old copies, and so you can likely continue to use these for the rest of your life as birth certificates do not typically expire.
If your drivers license is coming up for renewal, renew your drivers license before the law’s deadline. This will give you the maximum amount of time you can have a correct marker on your drivers license.
If you are affected by these laws, contact your local LGBTQ+ organizations or legal organizations. These organizations will be looking for plaintiffs.
On Monday evening, Tennessee passed a bill allowing parents with “religious or moral beliefs” that being LGBTQ+ is wrong to adopt LGBTQ+ children. This bill could expose these children to harmful practices such as conversion therapy or familial rejection of their gender identity or sexuality. If signed into law, it could also come into conflict with federal rules that require safe placements for LGBTQ youth. The bill now goes to Governor Bill Lee’s desk, amid calls from leading LGBTQ+ organizations for a veto.
Senate Bill 1738, which passed on a party-line vote of 73-20, states that prospective foster parents cannot be required to “affirm, accept, or support” any policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity if it conflicts with their “religious moral belief.” Furthermore, the bill mandates that non-affirming foster parents have access to LGBTQ+ children for fostering or adoption. It asserts that beliefs “regarding sexual orientation or gender identity… do not create a presumption that any particular placement is contrary to the best interest of the child.”
See the relevant provisions here:
Under this bill, Tennessee would be prohibited from deeming parents unfit for adoption if they reject transgender youth, believing such identities to be sinful. Similarly, the state would be required to allow parents who are religiously or morally opposed to homosexuality to adopt gay children. If a parent believes that conversion therapy through their church can “cure” LGBTQ+ identification, this belief cannot be considered contrary to the best interest of an LGBTQ+ child. The bill risks exposing every LGBTQ+ child in the state to potential religious abuse, conversion therapy, and family rejection.
This could be particularly harmful given the high overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system. For example, studies indicate that 30% of youth in the foster care system identify as LGBTQ+, and 5% as transgender. Many of these youth have faced rejection or abuse from their families of origin. They are also more likely to have a history of being subjected to conversion therapy. Placement with new families that subject them to the same harmful practices could have disastrous outcomes. LGBTQ+ youth who are subjected to conversion therapy are more than 2.5 times as likely to report multiple suicide attempts in the previous year.