Anti-Trans Legislation as Propaganda

Dozens of laws targeting trans people have been introduced in legislatures all over the US. Many have near-identical wording.

by Evan Urquhart

Already, in just the first few days of the new year, Republicans have introduced two dozen bills seeking to limit gender affirming healthcare, spread out among 11 different states across the country. These bills join other legislation covering a number of areas, from K-12 sports, to the minutiae of language used in the US House of Representatives, to all-ages entertainment that have one thing in common: Each bill seeks to limit trans people’s freedom or reduce trans people’s visibility in some aspect of life.  With this many bills, each packaged with its own line of fear mongering argument, it’s easy to become lost in the weeds. That’s likely no accident. The onslaught of legislation targeting trans people is flooding the zone, making it difficult to write or even think about coherently. So many little bills all introduced together. Some will pass, many will not. Only if you take a step back does the bigger picture become clear:

Anti-trans hate is the top priority for Republican lawmakers at all levels of government.

Like a squid releasing a cloud of ink, Republican lawmakers are burying trans people and allies under all this legislation. LGBTQ rights organizations will be forced to fight each one in an attempt to limit the damage to vulnerable communities. In the end, inevitably, some of this legislation will pass, leading to expensive legal battles again tapping the resources of LGBTQ+ organizations. And, all the while, the American public will hear about each bill, each legal battle, as a discrete question. They’ll be treated to discourse over whether pride flag stickers belong on the doors of high school teachers, discourse over the specific biological advantages conferred by testosterone and whether those are reversed after years of cross sex hormones, and discourse over whether drag queens are the same as strippers. The overarching story of a vulnerable group being targeted despite doing no harm and posing no risk to anyone, risks being lost under an avalanche of bullshit.

In order to cut through all that bullshit we need to understand the effort to target trans people for what it is, and help people who are or would like to be allies to put all the indvidual news items in context. So, what does it mean to say anti-trans hate is the top priority for Republican lawmakers at all levels of government? Let’s break it down, slowly and carefully.

Part one: Republicans are anti-trans

While it may seem self-evident that Republicans are anti-trans, they themselves often seek to confuse people on this question. They may claim that they’re not against trans people, they just want to protect children, or women. This sort of claim makes no sense. Trans people aren’t a threat to women or children, and if we were it would make sense to be against us. A politician would never say they weren’t against murderers, they just opposed murder, would they? If Republicans believe that trans people are a danger to women or children that means they’re against trans people. And if they don’t believe trans people are a danger to women or children, then there’s no justification for any of the anti-trans measures they’re proposing.

Part two: Republicans anti-trans position is based on hatred

Hate can be tricky to prove. People who demonstrate bias and animosity towards others often protest that they don’t feel any hatred inside themselves, and in the end it’s impossible to prove that a person really feels something if they’re claiming otherwise. However, what is meant by hate here isn’t necessarily that Republicans feel or don’t feel anything inside their cold hearts, it’s that their bias against trans people lacks any rational basis.

Take health care. If the motivation to limit gender affirming care for minors was based in rationality, then lawmakers considering the best course would welcome a wide range of experts and closely examine all the available evidence. They would make their decision about regulating gender affirming care based on this evidence, without cherry picking experts, and whether that meant limiting gender affirming care, keeping it the same, or expanding it. However, in this case the medical evidence is quite clear, leading all mainstream medical organizations to agree on the isue. Therefore, the effort to limit gender affirming care cannot be based on a rational consideration of the medical evidence. That leaves irrational animus, which is all we mean by hatred.

Part three: Trans issues are currently Republicans’ top priority

What about the claim that targeting trans people is the TOP priority of Republican lawmakers? Are there any other priorities that could be said to be as high or higher for the GOP?

The Republican party is certainly not a single-issue party. Their priorities include reducing taxes, protecting unlimited access to guns, and making Christianity the national religion. They oppose efforts to reform police and consider diversity a dirty word. But we’re not saying anti-trans measures are Republicans’ only priority, just that it’s their top priority right now.

Republican priorities also aren’t static. During the presidency of Donald Trump, anti-immigration was the party’s top priority. But right now, in January of 2023, there is no single other issue that is the subject of dozens of bills, forms the heart of multiple court battles, and is seeing widespread coverage in right wing media at this time. It’s clear that opposition to trans people is the highest priority for the GOP at the moment.

Part four: Anti-trans efforts are taking place at all levels of government

Last, but not least, the Republican effort to scapegoat trans people and limit our legal rights is happening at all levels of government. At the local level, Republicans are cherry picking candidates to serve on school boards across the nation, seeking to make schools unsafe for trans youth and reverse a trend towards acceptance of gender differences.

At the state level, we’ve already discussed the wave of anti-trans bills being pushed in state legislatures. Anti-trans policies are also being pushed by Republican governors, even in states like Virginia which have trended blue, where voters have never considered trans issues to be a top priority.

And, at the national level, Republicans in the newly flipped House of Representatives made symbolic opposition to trans inclusion one of their very first acts. And, of course, Ron DeSantis, the man most often talked about as the next leader of the Republican party nationally, has made opposition to trans rights his signature issue.

Taken together, the picture is clear. There is a national strategy by the Republican party to target trans people, using us as a scapegoat for all the ills of the world. Anti-trans measures are their current top priority, serving their long-term goal of returning to a whiter, more homogenized America where minority rights and voices can again be trampled in the name of Christian values and Western greatness. While it’s important to fight every law and protect the dignity and diversity of trans life in this country on all possible fronts, a national strategy opposing us demands a national strategy in our defense. We must help allies see the forest, and resist Republican efforts to hide their spiteful agenda amongst the trees.