More recently a huge fascination with government officials has been the transgender community. There is truly nothing more a government loves more than to tell others what they should be doing with their own lives and bodies.
In the first week of 2022 alone, nearly several states proposed anti-trans bills that would greatly impact transgender youth. According to NBC News, republican lawmakers in Arizona, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, New Hampshire and South Dakota introduced at least nine measures that target trans and nonbinary youths, such as their ability to participate in sports, receive gender-affirming care or use the bathroom.
With the recent rise in anti-trans and anti-lgbt legislation there has been a great incline in the detrimental effects these laws have on transgender individuals. This rise could be due to politicians trying to appease their widely conservative bases.
Recently, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds sign a bill which would prohibit transgender females from playing in girls athletics in high school and college. By signing this bill, Reynolds completely rejected the opponents’ argument that this would potentially lead to the harm of vulnerable children and teens to solve a nonexistent issue.
Reynolds claimed that signing this bill would solve some sort of “fairness issue” as she and many other republican officials believe that trans-girls have advantages at athletics. Again, her signature is doing nothing but “solving” a nonexistent problem that can only harm the trans-youth.
In addition, a Texan bill went into effect on Jan.18, forcing trans-students to play on the sports teams of the gender they were assigned at birth. This is just one of the many instances of the Texas government attempting to restrict the rights of trans minors.
Filing anti-trans and anti-lgbt bills should not be the main focus of legislators. When laws like this are proposed and enforced, there are negative effects on the mental health of transgender minors. Politicians shouldn’t be focusing on appeasing their far-right bases, rather they should be concerned about all of their constituents, especially those who are already at a huge disadvantage like the transgender youth.
