Two GOP governors stood up to anti-transgender legislation. We need more.
Anti-transgender bills are solutions in search of problems. The Indiana governor said as much in vetoing his state's bill. Same in Utah, where the governor spoke with feeling: 'I want them to live.'
Transgender Americans are being buffeted by waves of cruelty.
Laws being proposed or passed in states across the country are attempting to restrict access to gender-affirming care, access to high school sports and even access to books that address transgender issues.
Behind all these laws is the message that transgender people, adults or children, are not equals. That they are somehow an aberration, a subject to be avoided or stashed away in a box in a dark backroom corner of a library.
That is as cruel as it is baseless. And these laws are as damaging as they are opportunistic.
GOP is once again attacking 'others'
But there’s little indication the politicians and activists behind them care. Fearmongering about transgender people has swiftly become a policy platform for a sizable swath of the Republican Party, showing many have learned nothing from their days of bashing gay and lesbian people, or the people they dubbed “welfare queens,” or any of the other “others” used to keep their base fearful the nation is being torn asunder.
I used the word “many,” because it’s certainly not all. And there is hope to be found in the elected Republican leaders saying no to anti-transgender legislation.
On March 21, Republican Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed a bill that would have banned transgender girls from competing in female sports in schools across the state. In a statement about his veto, he said the bill “falls short” in providing “clarity and one consistent state policy regarding the fairness in K-12 school sports in Indiana.”
He also got to the heart of many of these matters, noting that the bill presumes “an existing problem in K-12 sports in Indiana that requires further state government intervention.”
“It implies that the goals of consistency and fairness in competitive female sports are not currently being met,” Holcomb said in the statement. “After thorough review, I find no evidence to support either claim even if I support the overall goal.”
Solutions in search of problems
Across the board, these anti-transgender bills are solutions in search of problems. The Human Rights Campaign recently reported that by March 2021, “state legislatures across the country had filed more legislation that specifically targeted the transgender community than in modern history. In contrast, 2020 had previously held the record of the most anti-transgender legislation introduced, with 79 pieces of legislation – 2021 had 147.”
A day after after Holcomb’s veto in Indiana, the governor of the conservative state of Utah vetoed similar legislation that would have barred transgender girls from female high-school sports teams.
Gov. Spencer Cox also released a statement, and he did something we rarely see from politicians of any stripe: He admitted to not understanding everything. His words are worth reading.
“I must admit, I am not an expert on transgenderism,” Cox said. “I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting. When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion. I also try to get proximate and I am learning so much from our transgender community. They are great kids who face enormous struggles.”
Compassion isn't 'wokeness'
Sadly, there are folks out there who would smack a compassionate comment like the governor's down as “wokeness.” It’s not, of course. It’s humanness.
But last Friday, the Republican-controlled Utah Legislature voted to override his veto. Indiana lawmakers vow to do the same in that state.
Defending his veto, Cox highlighted the fact that Utah’s lawmakers are ginning up a dilemma that doesn’t exist, and he brought receipts, noting there are 75,000 high school kids participating in high school sports in Utah, four transgender kids playing high school sports in Utah and one transgender student playing girls sports.
He also noted “86% of trans youth reporting suicidality” and “56% of trans youth having attempted suicide.”
'I want them to live'
His statement continued: “Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That’s what all of this is about. Four kids who aren’t dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day. Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do.
"But I want them to live. And all the research shows that even a little acceptance and connection can reduce suicidality significantly. For that reason, as much as any other, I have taken this action in the hope that we can continue to work together and find a better way.”
Cox’s decency with regard to this issue shouldn’t stand out as brave. But it does, and it is. He acknowledges at the end of the statement: “I recognize the political realities of my decision. Politically, it would be much easier and better for me to simply sign the bill.”
But he didn’t. And neither did Holcomb.
While many politicians are raising money and snagging airtime on conservative outlets by making the lives of transgender people measurably worse, some do have the guts to stand up for what’s right.
We need more of them.
Follow Paste BN columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @RexHuppke and Facebook: facebook.com/RexIsAJerk/