Apr.07

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

Restricting Trans Rights Has Apparently Become Red States' Top Priority

Continuing with the theme of "whatever it takes to stay in power," red states are nigh on obsessed with cracking down on trans people these days. It's really quite remarkable. Here's a list that covers just the past 10 days:

• Arkansas: The state legislature passed a bill requiring teachers to get permission from parents before using trans' students preferred pronouns. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) said she will sign it. The legislature also passed a "bathroom bill," which will also get the Governor's signature.
  
  
• Florida: The legislature passed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is expected to sign it.
  
  
• Idaho: Gov. Brad Little (R) signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors.
  
  
• Indiana: Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors. This despite the fact that Holcomb himself said the bill was badly written, calling it "clear as mud."
  
  
• Kansas: The legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's (D) veto of a bill banning trans girls from competing in high school girls' sports, meaning that the ban is now state law. In addition, legislators passed a bathroom bill. Kelly is expected to veto that one, too, and the legislature is expected to again override her veto.
  
  
• Kentucky: The state legislature overrode Gov. Andy Beshear's (D) veto of a bill that bans gender-affirming care for minors and also forbids schools from requiring teachers to use a student's preferred pronouns.
  
  
• Missouri: State AG Andrew Bailey (R), who obviously aspires to be Governor Andrew Bailey (R), announced that he will prosecute anyone who gives gender-affirming care to minors. The state legislature is working on passing a bill to make that state law.
  
  
• North Carolina: Republican lawmakers have filed legislation that would forbid trans girls from participation in high school sports.
  
  
• North Dakota: The state legislature passed eight bills relating to trans residents, including ones that would gender-affirming care for minors, would prohibit trans girls from participating in high school sports, and would require students to be identified by the gender on their birth certificate. Gov. Doug Burgum (R) has not yet commented.
  
  
• West Virginia: Gov. Jim Justice (R) signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors. Shortly thereafter, however, the U.S. Supreme Court gave Justice a small poke in the eye when it refused to sustain a West Virginia ban on trans girls' participation in high school sports.

In general, we are not a fan of the argument that takes the form: "The city/state/country still has [problem X], so how come the politicians have time for [thing Y]?" For example, it's silly that Joe Biden going to Delaware for the weekend should be verboten because there's still crime in America, or that Gov. John Sununu (R-NH) shouldn't be giving the commencement address at Dartmouth because global warming hasn't been solved. Nonetheless, we cannot help but notice that the red states have some serious problems that red-state politicians and citizens spend a lot of time carping about. For example, fentanyl addiction, or tainted water supplies, or rural poverty. And when, exactly, was the last time that these things got serious attention from ten different legislatures in the same week?

And this is not just our imagination. The ACLU keeps track of how many anti-LGBTQ bills are introduced in state legislatures each year. When the organization first started tracking, back in 2018, the number was 42. In 2020, it was up to 77, and by last year the total was 180. And do you know how many there have been this year? Four-hundred-and-seventeen! That's an increase of 231%! And it's only April 7. At this pace, the red states will easily push that number past 1,000.

Maybe this is crazy talk, but we are left with the impression that the only things these legislators care about is whipping the base into a frenzy in anticipation of future reelection bids. The only part we're struggling to make sense of, at least in most cases, is why you would want to light a fire under your base in spring 2023 as opposed to, say, summer/fall 2024. (Z)