2021: A Record Year For Anti-Trans Legislation, and It’s Only May
Art by Anya Ernst
Though we are only five months in, 2021 has been a record year for anti-trans legislation, especially legislation targeting transgender youth.
As of April 15, thirty-three states had introduced over 100 bills targeting transgender people, many of which aimed to limit access to medical care, whether that’s gender-affirming care or not, and bans on sports, bathrooms, or locker rooms.
Among these bans is Arkansas’ outlawing of gender-affirming medical care for minors, the first outright banning of this type of care. While the Arkansas state governor, Asa Hutchinson, vetoed the bill, claiming the republican-majority Senate had gone “a step way too far,” the House and Senate chose to override his veto. In what lawmakers called “Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act”, minors are prohibited from receiving puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-affirming surgeries.
Medical professionals warn that transgender youth, most of the people these bills target, are already susceptible to high suicide and depression rates. Without being able to play sports consistent with their gender identity, or recieve the medical care necessary for their mental and physical health, professionals worry that these rates will skyrocket.
The Associated Press called two dozen state lawmakers sponsoring bans on transgender kids playing sports consistent with their gender identity. Out of the two dozen, only a few could name local examples of trans girls in youth sports having an unfair advantage, which is cited as the main basis for these laws.
In South Carolina, Rep. Ashley Trantham said she didn’t know of any transgender atheletes currently competing, but claimed to be in support of the ban to protect the “next generation” of female athletes, claiming they “may not have a chance to excel.”
Essentially, like Rep. Trantham, many state lawmakers are supporting anti-trans sports regulations without any reason besides being “proactive.”
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, the interim director of GLSEN, an LGBTQ+ youth advocacy organization, claimed these laws are “a solution in search of a problem.”
President Joe Biden’s campaign promised to prioritize the protection of transgender youth, and while his administration has taken steps to preventing discrimination, advocates say a strong federal response to these state laws will be necessary to prevent them.
In his address to Congress on Apr. 28, Biden addressed transgender people directly, saying “your president has your back.” And in the wake of a record-breaking year of anti-transgender legislation, it’s important that these words ring true.
Sources
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/15/politics/anti-transgender-legislation-2021/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/arkansas-transgender-health-care-veto-override/index.html