Trans Formations Project Newsletter ∙ 9/23/22

Hello everyone! It is 9-23-2022, and 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, there’s still an action folks can take this week as far as existing legislation is concerned: the ACA Section 1557, which is the section that (on paper) prohibits Medicaid from denying gender-affirmative care (but in practice, this is not absolute), is subject to a motion to expand its interpretations to make banning said care harder. There’s a public comment period on this open until October 3rd, and if you want to submit a comment to help see this become official, here’s how. And just so you know, we at the TransFormations Project (TFP) are partners of the #ProtectTransHealth campaign, and they’ve produced a social media toolkit that you can access here for more information about how to help with this! 

Further, the comment period for the Biden Administration’s expanded rules for Title IX has been extended–if you’d like to leave a comment in support of the expanded rules which apply nondiscrimination protections to gender identity, it would be helpful—transphobic organizations like Genspect are directing their followers to leave negative comments. 

Lastly, it probably hasn’t escaped your notice that many school boards across the country are undertaking policies at the school district level to attack trans protections, even overturning protections that already exist. Media Matters has released a report on the activities of right-wing activist groups driving this turn of events. You should give it a read! 

The Thing(s) We Won This Week

So, in terms of good news: the State of Montana has folded in response to further pressure from Judge Moses–who threatened state officials with contempt of court for their flagrant violations of established legal proceedings. For the present, trans people in Montana can still change their birth records. That said, the legal battle over trans legal documentation in Montana remains ongoing–this is temporary, and it remains to be seen how this will play out as the court case goes on. 

Further, in response to the (questionably legal) and overt attack on trans rights in Virginia (more on this below) two silver linings have been found. First, individual school districts have indicated that they will refuse to comply with Governor Youngkin’s transphobic policies. Second, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) provided one of the most staunch democratic oppositions to Republican misinformation about trans youth in living memory, in that she said, in response to standard “groomer” conspiracy theories from Republican Rep. Bob Good, these words, in this order:

“That’s not f*cking true.” 

Is describing this as a win petty? Yes, probably. But we’re still going to take it, as it’s rare to see misinformation directly called out. 

That said, it wasn’t rare in Ohio this week! The board of education meeting about rejecting Biden’s Title IX protections was packed with people opposing the resolution–which will be voted on the dates of October 11-12. This is particularly encouraging, as it occurs in a week during which a children’s hospital that provides gender-affirming care in Akron was threatened with violence. 

Further, Google finally banned the misinformation-laundering group “Gays against Groomers,” which is exactly as bad as that name makes you think it would be. 

Lastly, a new poll from Ipsos finds broad opposition to Republican efforts to undermine discussion of queer topics in schools. While the poll does not specifically study trans issues, it’s at least a little encouraging on its face. 

What the Heck Happened This Week?!

We had planned a more comprehensive deep-dive into the new WPATH SOC8 this week–but then, Virginia dropped a huge cartoon weight. So, we’re moving that to next week. The biggest story of this week is Virginia. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has made good on his campaign promise to reverse the protections his Democratic predecessor, Ralph Northam, instituted for trans students in Virginian schools. What these policies (which will go into effect after a 30-day comment period) practically mean is that Virginia schools have localized bathroom bills, forced outing, and threatens teachers with punishments if they respect a trans student’s name and pronouns until they are 18 years or older and their parents sign a document, among other means of banning social transition within schools and a Don’t-say-gay-or-trans policy. 

An obvious question comes to mind. “How is this legal?” To which the answer is, “it probably isn’t, according to experts.” Particularly because there’s precedent from Virginia itself in the form of Gavin Grimm’s famous case. However, what will ultimately result depends upon court rulings, which raises alarm given the nature of the 6-3 Supreme Court. Then again, the majority of Judges on that same court ruled on Bostock v. Clayton County, which undermines Youngkin’s position. Then again, with Roberts’s actions in Dobbs, it’s unclear what would happen if this went up that high. As always: eyes on this case. 

A scare has also occurred in Missouri this week. One state senator, Robert Onder (R) is attempting to present a bill for a special session that acts simultaneously as an anti-CRT bill, an anti-history bill, a “parental bill of rights,” a bathroom bill, a forced outing bill, and a forcible detransition bill (SB22). The activist group PROMO Missouri describes the bill as “hype” and a “stunt,” in that the bill can’t actually…do anything without explicit approval for consideration in a special session by the governor. Missouri’s governor, Mike Parson, has given no indication that he’ll do so, particularly as the Special Session is explicitly intended for tax bills only. That said, it could happen–and the bill signals intent for 2023. 

Speaking of 2023, we need to talk about Matt Walsh and Tennessee. Evidently, the man is working with Tennessee lawmakers to craft a bill that will ban gender transition procedures for minors in the state for consideration in 2023. What exactly his qualifications are for drafting  legislation is anyone’s guess.Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University and its healthcare programs for trans youth have been the subject of many attacks this week–particularly from right-wing media, with Tucker Carlson going so far as to directly and explicitly encourage vigilante violence against the doctors working there, complete with faces displayed in a sidebar on his show. This is not the first incident of such behavior from Carlson. Predictably, threats and fantasies of horrific violence propagated overnight on 4Chan and far-right website the Donald. Reader discretion is advised. 

Lastly, at the National level, Senator Tim Scott (R) of South Carolina has introduced a bill aiming to forcibly out trans students and function as a bathroom bill for all schools at the national level. The bill in question is effectively dead on arrival for this session of Congress, but could prove a genuine threat should Republicans win ground in the midterms and 2024. 

Well, with that said, here’s a wrap on this week. I hope that you have a peaceful weekend after the mess we’ve seen here.