"You've seen it: state laws against transgender girls in sports, bans on minors taking hormones and puberty blockers, bathroom bills, and the like. Used as a political cudgel and broadcast in campaign ads, this vilification of transgender people has resulted in a shift of public opinion. Hostility has penetrated the middle of the road, where most people could once be characterized as neutral or indifferent, but where they now put themselves in the majority that opposes specific transgender rights."
"Just the other day, my adopted state of Kansas overrode the Democratic governor to pass a bathroom bill, along with a bill that allows random people to sue anyone who uses a public bathroom that doesn't match their sex at birth. It's noteworthy that transgender men must now use the ladies' room, in some cases that means men with beards and manly muscles."
"Kansas also passed a bill requiring transgender drivers to take their licenses into the DMV office, where they will be replaced by a birth gender license. Noncompliant licenses will be considered invalid as soon as the law goes into effect. Not only have they humiliated transgender Kansans, but they also have stressed them out by nullifying their IDs."
A significant backlash against transgender Americans has emerged over the past two years, reversing earlier civil rights progress. Political leaders have weaponized transgender issues in campaigns, shifting public opinion from neutral indifference to active opposition. State legislatures are passing increasingly restrictive laws targeting transgender individuals, including sports bans, restrictions on hormone therapy and puberty blockers, and bathroom bills. Kansas exemplifies this trend, passing multiple discriminatory measures: a bathroom bill allowing citizens to sue anyone using facilities not matching their birth sex, and a law requiring transgender drivers to obtain licenses reflecting their birth gender. These policies create practical hardships and psychological stress for transgender people while normalizing discrimination in mainstream political discourse.
Read at San Francisco Bay Times
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