As we gradually approach midterm elections, we’re seeing a notable amount of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation popping up around the nation. Anti-queer initiatives are not new, of course, but there’s certainly something to be said for the sheer number of anti-trans bills, especially without cause—trans youth have been receiving gender-affirming care and playing sports, for example, without issue for a long, long time. Conservatives aren’t motivated by anything but hate—and hyping up their voter base with undue hysteria, of course.
With this in mind, some legislation has gotten a lot more attention in mainstream media than others. The hateful Don’t Say Gay bill in Florida, for example, as well as the directive from Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for state agencies to investigate families who support their children receiving gender-affirming care. One state in particular has a deeply insidious anti-trans health care bill brewing, and it’s important we educate ourselves and others before it’s too late.
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When it comes to gender-affirming health care, we have to talk about Alabama’s SB184 and companion HB 266. These pieces of legislation were introduced in February 2022 and it’s likely they’ll have the opportunity to advance this March. For reference, the legislation was introduced as the “Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act (V-CAP),” which is as misleading and manipulative as ever.
As a review, the bills seek to make providing safe, age-appropriate health care to minors in the state a class C felony. This felony charge would be punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $15,000. Notably, Alabama’s legislation defines minors as people under 19.
As Daily Kos has stressed before, major medical associations like the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agree that safe, age-appropriate, gender-affirming health care is an effective and valid way of treating gender dysphoria. We also know that trans youth face higher rates of bullying, harassment, and abuse, and have high reports of mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Gender-affirming health care is lifesaving health care, and most actual experts agree.
The bill would also require public schools to basically “out” trans students if staff, like teachers or coaches, feel a student's “perception” of their gender is “inconsistent” with their sex. In addition to blatant transphobia, it’s also easy to see how this could lead to all queer students being “outed,” especially when we consider the ways people have different gender presentation or expression—for example, a masculine-presenting lesbian, a bisexual male who wears makeup, and so on.
In this way, Alabama’s legislation is quite broad and sweeping, and it feels like it’s pulled the most heinous details from what other states are doing to try and punish trans people. Queer—and especially trans—students can’t express themselves at school, can’t learn about people like them, can’t check out certain books from the library (if they’re not burned), can’t seek gender-affirming health care … So what are they supposed to do? The only logical explanation is that conservatives want to stomp out LGBTQ+ youth in the hope that they won’t become queer adults.
The sheer number of these bills—including ones that don’t make it out of committee—may set a precedent of such legislation being “normal” or “expected” from a Republican, and that’s dangerous in itself. The last thing we need is for moderates (or even progressives) to start to feel like this is the new normal for conservatives, instead of calling it for what it is: extreme, archaic, and far-right.
Conservatives want to pull our country to the right by any means necessary, and we can’t let trans folks be their latest scapegoat to do so.
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