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In just the first three months of 2021, GOP-led state legislatures introduced more bills aimed at transgender people, especially youth, than they did over the entire previous year. There are now more than 80 bills introduced this year alone. https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/republicans-trans-rights/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/r...
These bills "are not addressing any real problem, and they& #39;re not being requested by constituents. Rather, this effort is being driven by national far-right organizations attempting to score political points by sowing fear and hate." https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/republicans-trans-rights/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/r...
"A lot of authoritarian political movements are using trans people as their scapegoats." It& #39;s "an unprecedented assault in just the magnitude of the bills & the severity of what they propose to do in terms of criminalizing basic access to health care & equal access to education."
Just as their stated war on voter fraud is based on an imagined assault on the nation& #39;s democracy in order to disguise the real war on voting the party& #39;s reason for going after transgender children& #39;s access to health care or participation in sports is based on an imagined crisis.
"If the GOP really cared about democracy, they would make voting easier, not harder. Similarly, if the party were truly interested in the safety of girls, it would offer up bills that protect transgender girls in particular, who face very real dangers." https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/republicans-trans-rights/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/r...
Just as with anti-voter & anti-abortion bills, the GOP& #39;s tactic of pursuing transphobic legislation involves wasting legislative time & money by passing clearly unconstitutional bills that are invariably legally challenged, remain tied up for years & ultimately end up at SCOTUS.
Whether they win or lose at SCOTUS is beside the point because the party& #39;s goal is to distract its anxious base from the fact that their leaders do little to nothing about pervasive problems like inequality, depressed wages, a stagnant job market & the ever-rising cost of living.
Those on the GOP side of this debate include a wide swath of extremist groups: white nationalists, anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, anti-immigrant groups. To meet this threat will require an equally broad coalition of progressives to stand guard against attacks on trans people.
