Republicans Propose Flurry Of Stupid Bigot Anti-Trans Laws, And When We Say Flurry We Mean 167.

A necessarily shortened roundup of just this week.

Jan 20, 2023

It is only January 20. We're 20 days into 2023 and so far, Republicans in states across the country have already proposed 167 anti-trans and anti-drag discrimination laws. 167 .

I want you to remember that number for the inevitable few years down the road when conservatives do the thing where they rewrite history and claim that it was just a few bigots here and there who weren't real conservatives anyway because real conservatives value individualism and the government staying out of people's business — much like they've done with every other position they've held over the last 100 years that eventually became indefensible and embarrassing. Remember it for when they try to do the "Everyone felt that way at the time!" shuffle — citing outliers like JK Rowling and others who consider themselves feminists and liberals who just feel like they would really prefer it if trans people didn't leave their homes, ever — instead of the vast majority of us who were disgusted by this.

167.

But for now we're just gonna talk about the ones that were introduced this week.

West Virginia

Here's a new and especially disturbing one one — West Virginia Republicans hope to amend the state's current law regulating the distribution of obscene materials within 2500 feet of schools to make it an actual crime for a trans person to be around children.

West Virginia SB 252: "For the purposes of any prohibition, protection or requirement under any and all articles and sections of the Code of West Virginia protecting children from exposure to indecent displays of a sexually explicit nature, such prohibited displays shall include, but not be limited to, any transvestite and/or transgender exposure, performances or display to any minor."

Violation of this "crime" calls for a five year prison sentence. So a trans parent would not be allowed to pick their kid up from school, on account of how their mere existence, according to Republicans in the state, is "of a sexually explicit nature." A trans person would not be allowed to be employed as a teacher or live across the street from a school or walk past a school without risking five years in prison.

Mississippi

On Thursday, the Mississippi House voted 78-28 to ban doctors from providing gender affirming care , including hormone therapy, drugs, and corrective surgery to minors under the age of 18 — and to instruct the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure to revoke the licenses of any doctor who provides that care. Gender-affirming care is the current standard of care recommended by the American Psychological Association and American Medical Association.

“This bill I feel is necessary in Mississippi,” Republican Rep. Nick Bain of Corinth told the Daily Journal. “I feel like it protects children in Mississippi.”

Except it does not do that. It does the opposite. It hurts children in order to protect people like Nick Bain who are personally squicked out by the fact that trans people exist. While he may indeed feel that way, he may want to reconsider how good his personal instincts could possibly be when it was these very same instincts that led him to believe that comb-over bangs would be a good idea.

I'm not making fun of his looks but his personal choices, which are questionable.

Creating laws based on the "feelings" of people like Nick Bain and other Mississippi Republicans, while ignoring the recommendations of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Counseling Association, American Public Health Association, American School Counselor Association, American School Health Association, Child Welfare League of America, Mental Health America, National Association of School Nurses, National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Association of Social Workers seems like it might not be a great idea.

Utah

The Utah Senate passed not one, not two, but three new anti trans bills on Thursday. SB16 , like Mississippi's, bans gender affirming care for anyone under the age of 18. SB93 would bar anyone under the age of 18 from having their gender changed on their birth certificate.

"What is the compelling state interest in telling people that they can't change their birth certificates?" asked Sen. Daniel Thatcher (R-West Valley City). "What is the problem we're trying to solve?"

Thatcher was recovering from several strokes but went to work against his doctor's advice in order to argue against the bills. Good for him! Although no one actually answered his questions, because there literally is no answer other than "We would like to do everything in our power to prevent trans people from existing."

SB100 , the final bill, would require parents to be informed if their child has come out as trans at school and is being referred to by different names or pronouns so that said parents can do ... whatever it is the kind of parents whose kids would be afraid to come out to would do in these kinds of situations.

“We have truckloads of data that show that this [surgery] is lifesaving. This care is supported by every single credible medical and mental health organization on the planet. Everyone that actually looks at data instead of the politics,” Thatcher later told Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News “So why are we prohibiting current best practices?”

He also said he feels like he's "the only conservative on that floor," but he may want to revisit what being "conservative" actually means in this country.

Nebraska

Republican state Sen. Kathleen Kauth introduced two anti-trans bills to the Nebraska Legislature this week.

The first was the insipidly titled Let Them Grow Act, which — like the other bills — bars gender affirming care for anyone under the age of 19. The second is the The Sports and Spaces Act, and that's where things get freaky.

The bill would require schools to "maintain a record" of a child's biological sex from a sports physical (ie: basically require students to have their genitals checked out by school authorities) and then assign them to sports teams based on that assessment. The bill would also allow parents and children who believe they are competing against students of a different sex to bring a lawsuit against the school to "rectify the situation."

South Carolina

Hey! Remember a little over a week ago when an Oklahoma state senator introduced the Millstone Act , which would bar gender affirming therapy until people were over 26? Named for a Bible passage because Christian Nationalism? Well, a couple of South Carolina legislators saw that and instead of thinking "Well that is obviously ridiculous," decided to try it out for themselves .

North Dakota

North Dakota is really pulling out all the stops this week, with legislators introducing laws banning gender affirming care , barring minors from attending drag shows, barring transgender girls from competing in sports, and declaring it not a "violation of ethics" for social workers to practice conversion therapy in the state.

The wackiest of all, however, is SB 2199 , sponsored by Sen. David Clemens, R-West Fargo. This bill would fine "any entity receiving state funding, including a public school, an institution under the control of the state board of higher education, and a state agency or office" $1500 for referring to people with the correct pronouns, specifying that "If sex, gender, gender identity, or gender expression is contested, determination is established by the individual's deoxyribonucleic acid." Like, he wants to give DNA tests to people he suspects of being trans so that people can call them by the wrong pronoun. This is how wacky these people have gotten. This is how far they've gone. DNA tests.

For the sake of symmetry, I'm gonna need to point out that Clemens also has unfortunate man bangs. One more of these guys and we'll have a trend piece!