On Monday, October 25th, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a bill, known as House Bill 25, that bans transgender youth from participating on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. The ban applies to public schools from elementary to collegiate levels to assign athletes to teams based on their sex listed on their birth certificates. The bill also disallows the acceptance of modified birth certificates by requiring the student’s gender to be determined by their original birth certificate.
Greg Abbott has been open about his support of the ban and has been pushing for oppressive legislation throughout his tenure, including laws about gerrymandering and restricting reproductive liberties. Texas has one of the largest transgender populations in the U.S. and it has the most reported killings of transgender people of any state.
The issue with this type of legislation is that it significantly infringes on transgender persons’ ability to live and quality of life. There have been no examples of transgender athletes in Texas eliminating fairness within women’s sports, so the policy serves to discriminate against transgender student-athletes and subjects them to being misgendered. This is the type of violence that threatens LGTBQ+ livelihood and assists in the dehumanization of trans people across the globe.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Children are being targeted by the legislation, and it prevents transgender children from being able to form a healthy gender identity by forcing them to participate under a gender that they don’t identify with. These bans impact a person’s mental health and also serves to further stigma and discrimination against transgendered people and youth. The Texas legislators are bullying children and justifying discriminating against them and have even gone as far as to sue the Biden Administration over its guidance to protect LGBTQ+ employees.
Nationwide, more than 130 anti-transgender bills in 33 states have been introduced in the 2020-2021 legislative session. Some of the bills make it a felony for parents to allow their transgender children to receive puberty blockers or other transition-related care. Trans rights are human rights. The bill is yet another way that people’s bodies are policed and monitored, the legislature should not be allowed to police a person’s gender expression.
In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity was prohibited under federal law. Contact your representatives to get them to support the federal Equality Act, which is an act that’s been passed in the House but is presently pending in the Senate. The Equality Act would offer LGBTQ+ people federal protections from discrimination, especially in critical areas such as education and housing.
At SisterLove we stand with our transgender, intersex, and non-binary community members and denounce any legislation that supports and furthers violence against LGBTQ+ persons. For LGBTQ+ mental health support, call The Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386.
If you are a trans youth looking for resources in Texas, click here.
If you are an LGBTQ+ youth and would like to find support, click here to be directed to resources that can help you. You are not alone. While fighting for your right to exist is exhausting, please do not neglect your mental health. Take care of yourself!
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