Blog Entries reposted from the my blog

GOP Wants to Eliminate Trans People

Truhttps://wp.me/p7NAzO-2J

Trump Calls for the Elimination of the Transgender Community (blog piece)

Personal Note:

         When I started this blog, I wanted to make it a mixture of my poetry and short stories, some biographic essays, some travel pieces, particularly on Korea and Asia, and some political rants. But, over time, I did less and less political rants.

         As you may have figured out by now, I am in the camp that sees the MAGA movement as a form of neo-Nazism. and whoever the Republicans chose in 2024 (Probably Trump), if elected, which would lead to the end of the American Republic and possibly Civil War 2.0. Make no mistake, the leading Republican candidates all want to usher in a Christian-Fascist state. Central to their thinking is a hatred of the LGVTQ community, Muslims, non-Christians, secular humanists, and the left, which is anyone who is a member of the Democratic party, or progressive politically. They want to restore traditional American life where white male Christians were in charge and minorities knew their place as did women.

         It is hard at times to figure out what they truly believe. It is not at all clear that they would be in favor of ending same-sex marriages, or making homosexuality criminal again, although many of his supporters are.

         But one thing is clear the Republicans have a hard-on (pun intended) in the T community. The MAGA movement would like to simply eliminate the transgendered community through legal shenanigans by defining gender as either male or female assigned at birth, forbidding changing birth certificates and other official documents, including name and pronoun choice on official documents, outlawing gender reassignment, and stigmatizing the Trans community as mentally ill.

         just one example – in today’s Republican debate Nickie Hailey went out of her way to mention her belief that boys should go to boys' bathrooms and girls to girls' bathrooms, and that trans athletes should be banned from participating in women’s sports, and that gender reassignment surgery should only be done on adults just like only adults can get tattoos. Strange analogy but there it is. De Santis pretty much agreed with her but indicated that he was much tougher on anti-trans issues.

The republican party’s anti-trans agenda is personal for me.

         I have had several close friends in my life who were transgendered. Two transitioned from female to male, one from male to female and became a lesbian.

         I grew up in Berkeley, the most LGBTQ-friendly area in the U.S. and over the years have had many LGBTQ friends, both here and overseas, including California, DC, Oregon, Korea, Thailand, and India.

         I also lived for two years in Thailand, the most LGBTQ-friendly country in the world which is the center for Transgender surgeries. In Thailand, there are three genders – male, female, and Khatoey (which covers everyone who is nonbinary, including the entire LGTQ community and not just trans people). and drag shows are very popular among tourists.

         Therefore I am very sympathetic to the problems that our trans brothers and sisters face every day.

the Right Wing Calls for the Elimination of the Transgender Community

         The Christian right wing has declared that if a Republican is elected president, he would go full-blown anti-trans enacting policies that would effectively make transgendered Americans disappear legally, by declaring that there are only two genders recognized under federal and state law, the gender assigned at birth. Among other things, Trump, and DeSantis would pass legislation that would define in law that there are only two genders assigned at birth. He would outlaw all gender reassignment surgery and medical care, ban transgender men from participating in female sports, and prohibit government program documents from being changed in gender, would also be supported by banning discussions of transgender status in schools and colleges in the United States. He would no doubt also be in favor of bathroom bans and be in favor of boycotts of companies that are supportive of trans rights such as the boycott of Bud Beer because of their ad starting a trans person. In De Santis Florida, they did pass a bathroom ban that allows for civil enforcement by strangers, and criminal trespass charges for using the wrong bathroom.

         Another thing that Trump floated during his administration was passing executive orders that would legalize discrimination against the LGBTQ community, and unmarried opposite-sex gendered people by landlords and employers if they have a religious objective to LGBTQ people based on their religious beliefs. It is widely expected that if elected he would carry out such a policy, which could survive a Supreme Court challenge in my opinion.

         Other Republican leaders have called for banning Gay Pride observations and the rainbow flag.

         These policies if enacted would effectively make transgender status legally invisible which would be part of their policy to eliminate transgender people from the public square. In short, during a Republican administration, transgered people would legally disappear and no longer be recognized as a separate category.

         He would also ban LGBTIQ and especially transgender people from serving in the military or serving in any position requiring national security clearances, and no doubt ban Pride month observations on Federal property including the White House and military bases.

What Does the Bible Say About Transgendered People?

         One more interesting factoid is that the radical right is convinced that transgender status is somehow anti-Christian. Yet the Bible does not discuss transgender status per se, there are veiled references here and there -that God created two genders, Male and Female for example. But nothing specific about transgender status.

         Nonetheless, Christians now have rediscovered anti-trans language in the Bible. They often various verses to justify their view that transgender status is incompatible with Christianity and violates God’s rules.

         they often cite the following verses in support of their views

“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, NRSV)

Clothing and gender expression - Deuteronomy 22:5

         Deuteronomy 22:5, “A woman shall not wear a man’s apparel, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment; for whoever does such things is abhorrent to the LORD your God,” (NRSV) is the only verse in all of Scripture that directly references gender-based notions of clothing

Eunuchs as an example of gender diversity - Deuteronomy 23:1; Isaiah 56:1-8; Matthew 19:12; Acts 8:26-40

         The word “transgender” is relatively new, but it speaks to a host of age-old experiences. If you got in a time machine and interviewed people in the Bible, you wouldn’t find anyone who would use this word, because it didn’t exist, but you’d still find transgender and non-binary people. Some trans-biblical scholars today are especially interested in the experiences of people in scripture referred to as “eunuchs.”

         Typically, eunuchs were people who were assigned male at birth and had their reproductive organs changed or removed before puberty, but the word “eunuch” in the ancient world would also sometimes be used for those whom we would now call intersex. Trans scholars today aren’t interested in these individuals because they believe that eunuchs identified as transgender, but rather because some of the things the eunuchs in scripture experienced are similar to what trans people -- and intersex people -- experience today, particularly in terms of discrimination, oppression, and dehumanization.

         In Deuteronomy 23:1 a law forbids people assigned male at birth who had their reproductive organs crushed or cut off from being part of the community of Israel. This meant that there were probably relatively few eunuchs in Israelite communities for many years, and they’re mentioned rarely. However, once the Israelites were captured by Babylon and Persia, two cultures in which castration was more common, we began to see more stories concerning eunuchs and their position in society. We see that eunuchs are allowed to move back and forth between men’s and women’s spaces, that they take on tasks and roles related to both genders and because they were either intersex or physically changed before puberty they often looked different from cisgender men and women. This was normal in Babylonian and Persian society but still looked down on by the Israelites.

Why the right wing is so opposed to transgender rights

         Why the right wing is so opposed to transgender rights is an interesting question right wing opposes transgender rights for some of the following reasons:

Bing AI spells it out:

         there are different reasons why some right-wing politicians oppose the transgender community, but they often share some common themes, such as:

         They believe that gender is a biological fact determined by chromosomes and genitals and that any deviation from the binary categories of male and female is unnatural, immoral, or sinful.

         They fear that transgender people threaten the social order, the traditional family, and the religious values that they uphold.

         They view transgender people as mentally ill, confused, or deluded, and that they need to be cured, corrected, or prevented from transitioning.

         They exploit the ignorance, prejudice, and fear of their base to gain political support, especially on issues such as bathroom access, sports participation, and military service.

         They oppose any legal recognition, protection, or accommodation of transgender rights, such as anti-discrimination laws, health care access, and identity documents.

         One of the most prominent and influential right-wing politicians who oppose the transgender community is former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly attacked transgender people and their rights during his presidency and after. In his Agenda 47 platform, which he launched in 2023 as part of his campaign for the 2024 election, Trump proposed several anti-transgender policies, such as:

         Defining in law that there are only two genders assigned at birth, and that any attempt to change one’s gender identity or expression is illegal1.

         Calling for making transgender medical care illegal, and imposing harsh penalties on doctors, parents, and patients who provide or seek such care1.

         Banning transgender people from serving in the military and reversing the policies that allowed them to do so under the Obama administration1.

         Prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in sports according to their gender identity and requiring them to compete based on their biological sex at birth1.
         
Blocking any federal funding or support for transgender-inclusive programs, such as education, health, and social services1.

         Trump’s Agenda 47 is widely seen as a radical and dangerous assault on the human rights and dignity of transgender people and has been denounced by LGBTQ+ activists, civil rights groups, medical professionals, and human rights organizations2.

Trumps Agenda 27 Anti-Trans Agenda

         Trump’s Agenda 47 also contradicts the scientific consensus that gender identity is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that cannot be reduced to binary categories and that transgender people are not mentally ill, but rather have a legitimate and valid identity that deserves respect and acceptance.

Donald Trump.com2. Salon.com3. News.berkeley.edu4. Cnn.com5. Cnn.com6. Economist.com7. Snopes.com8. Realclearpolitics.com9. Realclearpolitics.com+5 more

Transgendered Access to Bathrooms

         One thing I find interesting is the whole manufactured crisis regarding allowing trans people to use the bathroom of their choice rather than the bathroom of their gender at birth. I don’t understand this one at all. A fully transitioned male or female will look the part of the new gender. How would you know then if a person is a transgendered person or not? How would you enforce it? Would people have to show their official ID to use the restroom? Some proposals would allow anyone to challenge people using the wrong bathroom which in some proposed laws would be a criminal felony offense. Do they intend to put people in prison for the crime of using the wrong bathroom?

Bing AI explores some of these issues below:

         There is no definitive answer to why some social conservatives want to ban transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice, but some possible reasons are:

         They believe that gender is determined by biological sex and cannot be changed and that allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice would violate the natural order and the privacy of others.

T          hey fear that transgender people pose a threat to the safety and well-being of cisgender people, especially women and children, who might be harassed, assaulted, or exposed to inappropriate behavior in bathrooms.

                   They oppose transgender rights and acceptance as part of a broader agenda to preserve traditional values and norms and to resist social change and diversity.

         To enforce such provisions, some states have proposed or enacted laws that require people to use the bathroom that matches their sex assigned at birth, or that matches the sex on their birth certificate or other official documents. Some of these laws also impose penalties for violating the bathroom rules, such as fines, criminal charges, or civil lawsuits. Some of these laws also allow private entities, such as businesses or schools, to set their bathroom policies and deny access to transgender people.
          according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as of June 2021, at least 10 states have introduced bills that would restrict bathroom access for transgender people in 2021, but none of them have been enacted so far.          However, some states have enacted such provisions in previous years, such as North Carolina in 2016, which later repealed and replaced the law with a compromise that still left some restrictions in place. Other states that have enacted or attempted to enact such provisions include Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Texas12

         Learn more:

Psychologytoday.com2. Theconversation.com3. Time.com4. Americanbar.org5. Verkerkecontractsone.lawbooks.cali.org6. En.wikipedia.org7. Ctb.ku.edu8. Ncsl.org9. En.wikipedia.org10. Crsreports.congress.gov11. Usnews.com12. Brennancenter.org13. Bing.com14. Ncsl.org15. Wto.org— see less

         “The Ohio Republican behind a bill that would ban transgender students from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity quoted scripture in justifying the legislation on Wednesday, deploying a verse suggesting that her opponents should be drowned in the sea.

         State Rep. Beth Lear whipped out the reference to Luke 17:2 while answering questions on House Bill 183 at a morning committee hearing. Facing Lear, State Rep. Joseph Miller, the ranking member of the House Higher Education Committee, asked her how she could “jive” her bill with “the teachings that you proclaim.”

         “In Luke 17, Jesus says that if you cause one of these little ones of mine to stumble, it would be better for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into the deepest sea,” Lear replied. “So—there are also concerns that Jesus has for children. And in Genesis, he tells us that he created the male and female.”

         Lear has previously invoked the Bible in explaining her reasons for sponsoring the proposal, which she introduced alongside State Rep. Adam Bird (R) and more than a dozen other Ohio Republicans last May. At an October hearing on the matter, according to The Buckeye Flame, Lear recited Genesis 1:27, saying, “In our country, since the Puritans and Pilgrims first arrived and until recently, we believed ‘God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.’”

Pro-Noun Controversy

         I also don’t understand the whole conservative freak-out over pronoun usage. Who gives a flying f*** what pronoun I choose to use? Unless using the wrong gender pronoun means that you are misidentifying your gender which is assigned at birth. Conservatives believe that anyone who uses the wrong pronoun is suffering from a mental illness and should not be allowed to use the pronoun of their choice.

Bing AI explains it as follows:

         Social conservatives are concerned about pronouns because they believe that the use of gender-neutral pronouns is a threat to traditional gender roles and values. They argue that the use of gender-neutral pronouns undermines the importance of biological sex and the differences between men and women. Some social conservatives also believe that the use of gender-neutral pronouns is part of a larger effort to promote a “radical” gender ideology that seeks to erase the differences between men and women1.

         It’s important to note that not all social conservatives share the same views on gender-neutral pronouns. Some may be more accepting of gender-neutral pronouns, while others may be more opposed to them. The issue of gender-neutral pronouns is a complex one that involves a range of social, cultural, and political factors1.

Under a Republican Presidency, the Transgendered Community May Legally Disappear

         To sum up, under a Republican President, LGBTQ rights, particularly T rights, will be sharply curtailed if not eliminated. If the legal definition of gender is the gender you were born with, and there are only two recognized genders, male and female, and you cannot legally change your birth certificate or other identity documents, cannot use the name or pronoun of your choice, and have to use the bathroom corresponding to your birth certificate, and sex reassignment surgery and care are outlawed, the T community will legally disappear. Unfortunately, about 40 percent of Americans will be okay with this, 20 percent neutral and 40 percent are very opposed. Count me in the latter camp. I would also foresee if there is a vacancy on the SC that the new court 7-2 conservative-leaning court will leave it up to the states to get rid of same-sex marriage, the right to contraception, to re-criminalize gay and lesbian sex, and even inter-racial marriages since they are all predicated on the same constitutional basis as Roe V Wade. At least 30 states would immediately criminalize homosexuality, and legally eliminate the trans community. 20 states would reaffirm legal homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and the rights of the transgendered to legally exist. The same majority will affirm any anti-trans laws or executive actions eliminating the rights of the transgendered to legally exist.

the End