Thursday February 18, 2016 - Transgender Community Under Attack

Family Research Council laid out a five point plan to legislate transgender people out of existence by making the legal, medical, and social climate too hostile for anyone to transition. Below is their 5 point action plan.

1. States and the federal government should not allow legal gender marker changes.

2. Transgender people should not have any legal protections against discrimination, nor should anyone be forced to respect their identity.

3. Transgender people should not be legally allowed to use facilities in accordance with their gender identity.

4. Medical coverage related to transition should not be provided by the government, or any other entity.

5. Transgender people should not be allowed to serve in the military.

In an earlier post, I stated how we have come a long way toward community acceptance. This is helping us find acceptance of ourselves.

Now come the blowback to this success. Organizations like the FRC are going to attempt to reverse out gains. Its up to each of us individually and collectively to fight back with the help of our supports in other communities. (Earlier Post)

It appears that they are using point #3 as the point to their spear. It worked in Houston, Texas to defeat the pro-LGBT legislation. It was recently used in South Dakota for a new student "bathroom" law.

They are using the fear of men in women's bathrooms. We can fight that with the help of  transmen. These laws would require transmen to use woman bathrooms. Showing transmen in women bathrooms or having transmen testify that the law would require them to use women bathrooms would help create doubt in the law.

Below are a couple of memes created in an attempt to push back against these anti-translaws.

These types of responses along with support from the community in general and within other segments of the LGBT community are needed.

Another action point is to turn the bathroom law around by supporting gender neutral bathrooms. But I would call them "Family Bathrooms".

I raised three daughters and sending my young girls into the bathroom alone or ask an older lady to accompany my daughter was a problem. Sometimes, I took them in the men's bathroom with me. But family bathrooms changed that. When I found family bathrooms, it was a great relief to be able to accompany my young daughters and now granddaughter into a bathroom.

Also, family bathrooms would help mother with sons who fear sending their young boys into the men's bathroom. I bet many women take their young son's into the woman's bathroom. These laws would make that a crime.

We must stay vigallant because there are people who will continue to try and roll back out progress. In the words of Dr. King.... ".... aint nobody going to turn us around"