State of Emergency

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While June is known as Pride month, October is LGBTQ+ History month. So much has happened this year it makes it one for the history books, for all of the wrong reasons.

I began writing this piece in April, hoping to share it in May, as that is National Mental Health Awareness Month. I continued writing this piece through the month of May, hoping to share it in June, as that is Pride month in the U.S. I meant to post this in October, which is LGBTQ+ History Month. But, life had other plans for me for the month of October. I’ll speak on that another time. For now, it's time to discuss the current state of emergency.

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Stonewall
The first Pride came in the form of a rebellion at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in 1969. The rebellion lasted for 6 days, in which members of the queer community fought the New York police. The next year, the Christopher Street Liberation Day march was held in New York City. The gay and trans folks that marched that day risked their lives to do so; at that time, it was illegal to be gay.
 
While the rebellion at the Stonewall Inn is the most well-known, it wasn’t the first fight for queer rights in the United States. Sadly, it isn’t the last. The LGBTQIA+ communities have undergone a nationwide attack on queer civil rights. This attack is unprecedented and perpetrated with a vehemence I’ve not witnessed in my lifetime.
 
“It’s clear that we are in a disturbing new era of attacks on our communities,
and especially on transgender people…This dramatic rise in political attacks clearly illustrates how emboldened anti-LGBTQ activists seem to feel. Over the years we’ve seen many attacks on LGBTQ communities, but this moment is very different and frankly terrifying for many people.”
-Logan Casey, Movement Advancement Project

It’s been disconcerting to watch over the last ten months how numerous states have introduced and passed legislation targeting the queer communities, especially the trans, gender fluid, gender non-conforming, and non-binary communities. My state, Indiana, is no different. The governor of Indiana has signed the following harmful bills into law:
 
-SB 480-This law “…prohibits families and doctors from providing age-appropriate, evidence-based care for youth who require it. By banning nearly all forms of science-based care available to trans youth, this bill would forcibly deprive some youth of life-saving care that they are already receiving.”
https://www.aclu-in.org/en/legislation/sb-480-ban-essential-medical-care-trans-youth
 
 
-HB 1608-Indiana’s version of Florida’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This law bans “…discussion or acknowledgement of LGBTQ people in schools under the guise of banning conversations around ‘human sexuality’… This also forces teachers to out students who request to be referred to by a different name or pronoun, by sending a note home to parents.”
 
This law could be used to:
·         Silence any mention of LGBTQ people
·         Ban books with LGBTQ characters
·         Fire LGBTQ teachers
·         Bar Pride flags in classrooms
https://www.aclu-in.org/en/legislation/hb-1608-human-sexuality-instruction
 
 
-HB 1569-This would enable to the Department of Corrections to deny medical care for transgender inmates.
 
The Indiana ACLU reports:
 “The Supreme Court has ruled that denial of necessary medical care is a violation of the 8th Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment…the courts agree and have consistently found that people who experience gender dysphoria cannot simply be denied care. The DOC cannot dent necessary treatment to incarcerated people simply on the basis that they are transgender.”
https://www.aclu-in.org/en/legislation/hb-1569-restrictions-doc-provision-gender-therapy
 
-SB12/HB1447-This law “prevents elementary and secondary schools and non-college/university libraries from raising a defense to existing law which makes it a felony to expose minors to ‘harmful material’.”
 
This law means that a teacher, school librarian, and or principal, could be criminally prosecuted if a parent were to find any content “harmful” in any book in their school library.
https://www.aclu-in.org/en/legislation/sb-12hb1447-material-harmful-minors
 
These laws trouble me. However, it’s the last law that concerns me the most. I’ve spent my entire life working in libraries. My first job working in a library was elementary school in the second grade. As an adult, I’ve worked 30 years in my public library system. To think I’d be a felon, for simply checking out a book to a child, is frightening, unthinkable, and unconscionable.
 
Thankfully, librarians in public libraries were not included in the final version of this law. However, this was not the case in the original draft. My job, and those of my coworkers, were spared. Yet, that is not the case for our colleagues in public schools. Librarians are guardians of knowledge, not felons.
 
Sadly, Indiana is but one state that introduced and passed harmful bills. Here are but a few examples of the considerable harm done by legislatures across this country this year:

*In Florida, the now infamous “Don’t say gay” law was originally pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade students. A new version of the law has passed, which extends this law until 12th grade.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-04-19/florida-expands-dont-say-gay-through-12th-grade-while-house-oks-anti-lgbtq-bills

*In Montana, Representative Zooey Zephyr of Montana, a trans woman, protested an anti-trans bill, and was then banned from the legislative floor:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hollycorbett/2023/04/29/what-banning-rep-zooey-zephyr-from-the-house-floor-means-for-democracy/?sh=1add9a8f45dc

*In Florida, a state representative, addressing the legislature, made the comment:
“Our terrorist enemies hate homosexuals more than we do…”
https://www.advocate.com/politics/florida-republicans-hate-homosexuals

*There are 18 states, and counting, who have banned providing gender affirming care to minors:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/map-gender-affirming-care-targeted-us/story?id=97443087

“We know the risks associated with not accessing essential care. They include risk for depression and anxiety, and sadly increased risks for self-for feelings of self-harm including suicidality…Anything that tells a kid that the way that they feel and how they identify is wrong and is really….it’s hurtful and hateful.”-Dr. Benjamin Hoffman, President-Elect, American Academy of Pediatrics


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Book Bans 
In addition to the hundreds of bills put forth in state legislatures across the nation, there is also considerable harm happening to children, in the form of book bans. A recent report showed that 37 states had enacted book bans.
https://bookriot.com/pen-america-book-ban-report-2023/

There are two categories of books that are banned the most: those with BIPOC characters (Black Indigenous People of Color), and those with queer characters.
https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/

In August of this year, NBC News reported that 17 states enacted more than 30 anti LGBTQ laws in education this year.

In September of this year, the American Library Association released data on the effort to ban library materials across the country. From January 1 to August 31, there were 695 attempts to ban material and services. More than 3,900 titles were targeted in the prospective bans.
 

https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/09/american-library-association-releases-preliminary-data-2023-book-challenges


In October, a library in Alabama pulled a book that might be thought to have harmful material. The book title: “Read Me a Story, Stella.” The author: Marie-Louise Gay. There’s nothing in the book that has anything to with LGBTQ themes or anything that cold be considered harmful-the author’s last name just happens to be Gay.

https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/childrens-picture-book-was-on-library-list-to-be-moved-to-adult-section-because-authors-last-name-is-gay.html



“I Stand With the Banned: Trying to navigate life’s on-ramps, potholes, detours, closures, and occasional magnificent vistas without ample books to help you navigate is like trying to drive a bus without a steering wheel.”-Mo Willems, best selling author
 
“The books that the world calls immoral
are books that show the world its own shame.”-Oscar Wilde

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Supreme Court
In addition to the harmful legislation and book banning in the country, the Supreme Court of the United States of America (SCOTUS) in June ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the case “303 Creative vs. Elenis.” In this case, the SCOTUS ruling gives a business license to discriminate against any LGBTQ+ person when it is for a customized product. The plaintiff of the case, a web designer, brought the case forward, stating that creating a wedding website for a same-sex couple would go against her conservative Christian beliefs.
 
Days after the SCOTUS decision, it was discovered that the party named in the case had never heard of the case at all.
 
https://newrepublic.com/article/173987/mysterious-case-fake-gay-marriage-website-real-straight-man-supreme-court
 
On this principle, the case should never have gone to the Supreme Court in the first place. The court deals in real cases, not in conjecture, falsehoods, and hypotheticals.

State of Emergency
 
Over the course of this year, there have been over 600 anti-LGBTQ laws introduced in 41 states. Of those bills, 77 have been signed into law. That number is more than all the laws in the last five years combined.

Things are so dire in the United States right now that the Human Rights Campaign has declared a state of emergency for the entire nation. They have a website that lists every state, and their status on laws that effect the daily lives of the LGBTQIA+ communities.


In September of this year, Canada issued a travel advisory for the United States.

Statistics
To be clear, the queer communities are in the minority in every country, including the United States.  A recent Gallup Poll shows that percentage those who self-identify as LGBTQIA+ differs with each generation:

3.3% Generation X
11.2% Millennials
19.7% Generation Z




Source: "Soul of a Nation: Freedom to Exist"-ABC News

Countless elected officials in state legislatures across the country have done immeasurable harm to millions of Americans. They clearly don’t represent the opinions of their constituents and will do anything to get re-elected. When they win elections, they then seek higher levels of office. So what if people’s civil rights are erased? To them it’s worth the erasure of queer people’s rights, American’s rights, to ensure their political gain.
In March of this year, Colonel Pam Stevenson made an impassioned plea in the Kentucky legislature, which went viral:
 
“First you hated black people, then you hated Jews. Now you’re hating everybody. So the question is, when it’s the only people left are you, will you hate yourself? Power concedes nothing! This house is for the people, by the people, to serve the people. And you won’t listen! You go after everybody’s kids but your own! You make hate the way to go as long as it’s not applied to you! You have to ask yourself a question: Why would they be doing that? Who are we to cause that? None of us said we will come here and hurt people-and yet you make trade and policy so your bills can be heard. You go against the people of this state! This is a horrible, horrible session. This bill is horrible because it has nothing to do with the people! And the last thing I’ll say to you is God bless you,
because somebody’s gonna have to atone. Somebody’s gonna have to atone
for not being who you’re supposed to be.”

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This has been a troubling year for me. Like millions of Americans, watching the local news has become triggering. At the start of the year, I saw countless news stories of bills put forth by the legislature. On one broadcast, my local news station covered the anti-trans bill that was signed into law that day. They spent the next five minutes discussing similar bills in other states around the nation. It’s difficult to hear of the rights of your community being erased in your own city, in your own state. To hear about it nationwide, it becomes all encompassing. I got to a point where I couldn’t watch the news anymore. I can’t listen to the hate. I can’t stomach it.


It's hard for me to hear of the rights of others in the queer community that are being erased. It’s sickening, and completely disgusts me. Yet, some might ask: Why does it upset you? Why do you even care? You’re not the one being targeted in these laws.

My answer: it bothers me because I’m a human being. To learn of anyone’s civil rights being erased is both maddening and sickening. I have friends and family who are trans and or non-binary. These are my friends and family that are being attacked. I have trans friends that have fled the state because of our hateful laws.

Sadly, my friends are not alone in their fear. The employment website Indeed will give trans employees $10,000 to relocate to a state with gender affirming care.
https://www.essence.com/news/money-career/indeed-gender-affirming/

It’s true, I’ve not been the intended target in these anti-LGBTQ bills. That’s true, for now. That could change at any moment. There are already those in the anti-trans movement that are now targeting the asexual community. Apparently their “theory” is that puberty blockers given to minors are erasing children’s sexual desires, making them “Asexual.”
https://www.wearequeeraf.com/anti-trans-movement-has-a-new-target-the-asexual-community/
 
“An attack on one of us is an attack on us all.”-Yasmine Benoit, asexual activist

“If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you in the night.”
 
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Hate
Being a member of the queer community, I've had friends and family come to me to ask about these attacks on my community, on the pure vitriol that has set its sights on the queer communities in the U.S. People asked me, “Where is this hatred coming from? When did it all start?” Experts point to the passing of the Marriage Equality Act in 2015, which gave gay couples the right to legally marry. 

“What has been true about the progression of legal rights for LGBTQ people in the United States is that all progress has led to very extreme backlash. When the Supreme Court strikes down the remaining bans on marriage equality for same-sex couples, with the Obergefell decision in 2015, the right was well oriented to picot to attacking trans people…. The legislation we’re seeing being moved in state legislatures across the country is model legislation drafted by very well-funded groups that have an ideological goal of eradicating trans people. It’s not coming from constituents.”-Chase Strangio, Attorney, ACLU
https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights
 
With the unprecedented hate and vitriol happening in the country, there is hope. For example:

-The Indiana ACLU is suing the state over the “Don’t Say Gay” bill
https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2023/06/12/lawsuit-dont-say-gay-indiana

-80% of Americans support non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people.
Source: Human Rights Campaign
https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/icymi-new-data-shows-support-for-lgbtq-rights-reaches-highest-rates-ever-recorded

"Here's the thing about rights-they're not actually supposed to be voted on. That's why they're called rights."-Rachel Maddow

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Hate Crimes
The laws enacted in the U.S. this year have real world consequences. Hate crimes against the queer population have risen 19% in 2022.
https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/4259292-fbi-crime-statistics-show-anti-lgbtq-hate-crimes-on-the-rise/

The Anti-Defamation League reported that over 350 such crimes have happened in the last year in 46 states.
https://www.adl.org/resources/report/year-review-anti-lgbtq-hate-extremism-incidents-2022-2023

The Human Rights Campaign reports that hate crimes based on sexual orientation went up 13.8%.

As for crimes pertaining to gender identity, they rose a staggering 32.9%.

https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/national-state-of-emergency-for-lgbtq-americans


In one recent case, journalist and community advocate Josh Kruger was murdered in his own home:

One of the more notable hate crimes that shocked the nation happened in August of this year, when shopkeeper Lauri Carleton hung a Pride flag at her business. She was not a member of the queer community; she hung a Pride flag to let others know that all are welcome in her business. A man got into an argument with her about the flag. The confrontation over the Pride flag resulted in Carleton being murdered. The gunman was pursued by police and killed.
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Federal Protections
In June, President Biden recently announced new protections for Americans who are LGBTQIA+. He spoke on the need for such measures:
 
“We have some hysterical and, I would argue prejudiced, people who are engaged in all that you see going on around the country…it’s an appeal to fear, and it’s an appeal that is totally, thoroughly, justified and ugly.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/08/biden-lgbtq-americans-attacks/70300085007/
 
 
The White House published a fact sheet of upcoming policies, including the following:
  • Protect LGBTQI+ communities from attacks on their rights and safety by launching a new LGBTQI+ Community Safety Partnership and announcing that the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department will serve as the Department’s liaison to the LGBTQI+ community on issues related to protecting the rights of the community.
  • Support LGBTQI+ kids so they can thrive by strengthening mental health resources for LGBTQI+ youth, launching a new federal initiative to address LGBTQI+ youth homelessness, releasing federal funding to support programs that help parents affirm their LGBTQI+ kids, and advancing new regulations to protect LGBTQI+ youth in foster care.
  • Shield LGBTQI+ Americans from book bans that threaten their rights by announcing that the Department of Education will appoint a new coordinator to address the growing threat that book bans pose for the civil rights of students.
 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/08/fact-sheetbiden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-protect-lgbtqi-communities/
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Matthew Shepard
In thinking about all the hatred that has been legislated this year, I’m reminded of the murder of Matthew Shepard, which happened 25 years ago. His death saddened and outraged the nation. His parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, created the Matthew Shepard Fund, which has been working since its founding “…to embrace the dignity and equality of all people.”
https://www.matthewshepard.org/about-us/our-story/
 
It took over a decade after Matthew’s murder for a hate crime law to be passed in the United States. In 2011, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. hate crimes bill was signed into law.
https://www.justice.gov/crt/matthew-shepard-and-james-byrd-jr-hate-crimes-prevention-act-2009-0
 
In a recent interview, Judy Shepard spoke about the current climate in the United States, and the attack on the LGBTQ+ communities:
 
“They’re still being denied basic rights, the community is, and the absolute outward showing of hate again, it’s just infuriating to me.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/matthew-shepards-mom-calls-anti-lgbtq-bills-vicious-attack-25-years-mu-rcna121240
 
Mrs. Shepard then referred to past administrations, and efforts to limit LGBTQ+ rights, as in the fight for federally recognized marriage equality.
 
“All those who were fighting against the gay community, this is their last gasp…They know they’ve lost the war, but this battle is just the last, most vicious attack on the community…It’s already over. That’s what they don’t understand. They’re fighting a losing battle.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/matthew-shepards-mom-calls-anti-lgbtq-bills-vicious-attack-25-years-mu-rcna121240
 
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Erasure of Civil Rights
Make no mistake, the legislation passed this year is an erasure of civil rights. The marginalization of LGBTQ+ people should upset you. The erasure of civil rights should bother you. The attempt to annihilate another people’s existence should enrage you.
 
With all these examples of the attack on the queer community in America, we need our allies more than ever. To be clear, being an ally isn’t just a hip buzz word. It’s not something one can proclaim oneself to be. It doesn’t just involve wearing a pin or button on your lanyard or blouse.  It, in all actuality, is a responsibility. Being an ally means that you’re willing to do all that you can to help the queer community. Through your vote, your voice, your money, your power, your community. To be an ally you must be willing to have hard conversations, to question biased thoughts and ideas, to call others to account for their comments of hatred, to put yourself in harm’s way if necessary.
 
“Allyship is not a single action. It is ongoing action, with a focus on other people, not on yourself.”
-Center for Creative Leadership
 
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This has been a horrible year for many in the LGBTQ+ communities. Rights and freedoms were erased with the bat of an eye, the call of a vote, and the swish of a pen. The damage done has already been felt by millions of Americans. 

Yet this need not be. We can right the wrongs that have been done. It can’t be done alone, it all depends on you. Your vote, your voice, your passion, and your compassion. 

We in the LGBTQIA+ communities cannot do it alone. We need your help. We need our allies to fight to protect our rights. We need our friends and loved ones to show up at the polls. We need to share our stories loud and proud, for all to hear. Make no mistake, we are truly, and most assuredly, in a state of emergency.
 


 
“Hope will never be silent.”-Harvey Milk


"Tee Turtle Bunny Pride Pin" by Esperanza Habla

“Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It’s not pie.”
 

“I exist. I get to exist. I get to take up space & oxygen. I get to have feelings & experiences & preferences. I deserve safety & support. And I don’t have to apologize for any of it.”-Dr. Glenn Patrick Doyle

 
“You can try to ban everything, but we are going to turn up everywhere
all at once.”-Jamie Leigh Curtis-Advocate of the Year 2023
 
“The change has already happened, and we ain’t going back.”-Billy Porter
 
-“Do not be dissuaded by a loud minority out there bent on defaming and misrepresenting our community, especially trans people-desperation is all they have. Remember, when they go low, we get LOUD.” -Sarah Kate Elllis, president of GLAAD
 
 “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist."
-James Baldwin
 

“I think a lot of people will realize that they have to make an ultimate decision.
The decision is to go back into that closet real good, slam the door tight-which some will do-or burst down those closet doors once and for all and stand up and start to fight. Because if we learn from history that the struggle goes on, eventually we will win. All the President has to do is-or the governor-
is to turn the pages of history a little faster.”
-Harvey Milk
 

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