TRANS FORMATIONS PROJECT NEWSLETTER ∙ 10/7/22
Hello everyone! At time of writing, it is October 7th. As with every week, it’s time for another weekly wrap up of things that are happening with laws and policies affecting trans people in the U.S.
As a reminder, if you are concerned about ongoing efforts rollback trans youth rights in schools in Virginia, there’s some easy actions you can take.. Firstly, you can submit a public comment on Youngkin’s policy: it’s a straightforward action that can send a loud message. The advocacy group Equality Virginia also maintains a social media toolkit you can peruse! And you won’t be alone if you do: tens of thousands of comments have already been submitted opposing this policy, so much so that the website crashed at one point.
Two weeks ago, the Ohio Board of Education heard comments on a proposed resolution to effectively enforce bathroom bills in schools and forcibly out trans students to (among others) their parents, while also functioning as a don’t say gay or trans policy. The reception was negative, with the vast majority of comments in opposition. On October 12th, the Ohio Board of Education will meet to vote on this resolution. As such, all eyes should be on Ohio. There are some actions you can take that you should look over here!
In terms of weekly updates, it remains a calm before a storm. Not all that much good happened this week, truthfully. Yet, ongoing difficulties have arisen over the course of this week.
First, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt predictably signed SB3, withholding COVID relief tax money from Oklahoma University’s health system to forcibly defund any gender-affirming care. Stitt did this, however, with a declaration of intent to ban all gender-affirming care of any sort for children in Oklahoma.
Second, pressure placed upon Vanderbilt in Tennessee continues to mount. Yet, the law (as written) in Tennessee currently has limited influence–but there is clear intent to change this in the 2023 legislative session.
A new bill has emerged in New Jersey (NJ S3076) which aims to ban all gender-affirming care for minors in the state.
Further, Florida Health’s rule-making set appears to have been delayed until after November elections-potentially into next year. Still, Florida should be attended to.
Lastly, news stories from Vermont have been making the rounds that are spreading aggressive misinformation about how trans protections in that state work. Recently, right wing publications and bad actors twisted a story about a young trans girl being bullied in her locker room to instead portray the trans girl as an aggressor and threat to her peers. This story was widely circulated despite being false and based on bias. We at the Trans Formations Project urge journalists to use caution when reporting on trans stories, as in our highly politicized current climate, misinformation is rampant and causes harm to transgender youth.