Trans Formations Project Newsletter ∙ 11/11/22
Hello everyone. At the time of writing this, it’s November 11th, 2022. We are back with our weekly wrap-up this week of laws and policies affecting trans folks in the US, with a focus on midterm election results from Tuesday. Before that, however, there's some urgent news out of Ohio: the Ohio Board of Education is once again meeting to attempt to re-implement the anti-trans policies that they failed to implement earlier this year. They are meeting NOVEMBER 14th and 15th--and there's an action item list you can and should examine, especially if you're in Ohio linked here.
Midterm Election Results
First, the bad news. We saw multiple incumbents with anti-LGBTQ platforms win their re-elections, including Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama, and Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma. We will continue to keep an eye on legislative updates from these states.
Currently, control of the Senate is undecided. At the time of writing, Democrats have won 48 Senate seats, and Republicans 49. Republicans need to win 51 seats to gain control of the Senate, while Democrats need to win 50 seats to maintain control. Control of the Senate is dependent upon close races in Arizona and Nevada, as well as a run-off in Georgia between (D) Raphael Warnock and (R) Herschel Walker. In Arizona, (D) Mark Kelly is running against (R) Blake Masters, whose campaign platform includes support of a federal “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill. In Nevada, (D) Catherine Cortez Masto is running against (R) Adam Laxalt, who has a long history of being anti-LGBTQ.
Control of the House is also undetermined. Democrats lost 7 seats so far, while Republicans have gained 6 seats. Republicans are leading with 208 seats and need 218 to gain control of the House of Representatives. We will keep a close watch as election results continue to roll in, but projections are in favor of a Republican majority.
The Thing(s) We Won
Tuesday night we saw victories for numerous transgender and gender diverse candidates, increasing representation and boosting the fight to protect trans rights. Here are a few victories we are celebrating:
Mauree Turner, who won their re-election for the Oklahoma house of Representatives, was the first non-binary person elected to any state legislature, and has subsequently won re-election, even in a red state.
Leigh Finke won her election in the Minnesota House of Representatives, making her the first out transgender lawmaker in Minnesota history! Notably, it wasn’t even a close race–she absolutely demolished her opponent.
Also in Minnesota, Alicia Kozlowski, who is two-spirit, won their election to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Kozlowski was also a first-time candidate who defeated their Republican opponent by a wide margin.
Congratulations to Taylor Small, who won her re-election for the Vermont House of Representatives. First elected in 2020, Small was Vermont’s first out transgender legislator. Vermont also now has a veto-proof Democratic majority against its Republican governor (who won re-election).
Sarah McBride was re-elected to the Delaware State Senate. Her 2020 win made her the first trans person in the country to be elected as a state Senator, and her re-election demonstrates staying power in that role.
In Montana, SJ Howell, who is trans and NB, and Zooey Zephyr, a trans woman, both won their races for Montana's House of Representatives. Both are firsts for the state.
Finally, James Roesner of New Hampshire became the first out transgender man elected to state legislature in U.S. history.
You can learn about these victories, and more, at victoryfund.org/ourcandidates. You can also use our new legislator scorecards to see where your representatives stand on trans-related issues.
We also saw numerous victories for trans rights across school board elections, with candidates who ran on anti-LGBTQ+ platforms being defeated in school districts across the country including Virgina, North Carolina, Indiana, and more. These elections are hugely important for protecting the rights of trans kids across the US and we are thrilled to celebrate these victories affirming trans rights!
Finally, in Nevada, constituents voted in favor of an equal rights amendment to the state constitution which will prohibit infringement on rights based on, among other identities, gender identity or expression.
What the Heck (else) Happened This Week?
Tennessee released multiple anti-trans bills on the heels of the election. The first bill introduced this legislative session was HB1/SB1, which Republican leaders are calling “Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act.” HB/SB1 is a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors in the state, with exemptions for intersex children. You can read the full text of the proposed legislation here. But that’s not all; state lawmakers also introduced HB3. HB3 makes it a misdemeanor for drag, as well as other “prurient” [read: sexual] entertainment, to be performed in public, with second offenses treated as a felony. You can read the full text of HB3 here. Notably, the bill was designed with the input of transphobe Matt Walsh, which he has bragged about on Twitter.
Final Notes…
Next week, the Utah Health and Human Services Interim Committee will be discussing a ban on gender-affirming survey for transgender youth. If you live in Utah, please contact your representatives. Members of the public are also invited to join remotely via Zoom (link here) or leave a public comment here.
And to close things out, a reminder that the 2022 US Transgender Survey is live until November 21st. The survey is open to individuals of trans and non-binary identities, ages 16 and older, who live in the United States and U.S. territories. The survey is anonymous, available in English and Spanish, and takes about 60 minutes. Make your story heard and take the survey before November 21st at www.ustranssurvey.org.
We will be back next Friday with updates on election results and more across the country.