A New Legislative Season (Update)

Since I wrote this morning’s blog I cam across two more bills that have been introduced by, who else but Republicans.

In New Hampshire…

The New Hampshire Facebook page has about a rally against HB1251.

After years of focusing on restrooms and locker rooms as an entry point for excluding trans people from public life, opponents of LGBTQ equality have shifted strategy to focus on excluding trans people, particularly students, from participating in athletics consistent with their gender identity.

HB1251, a proposed bill at the New Hampshire State House, offensively attempts to define participation in female student sports by the student's internal and external reproductive anatomy, naturally occurring level of testosterone, or an analysis of the student's chromosomes. Sweeping bills that purport to determine a person’s sex by documenting the person’s chromosomes and reproductive anatomy raise serious privacy concerns and are discriminatory, plain and simple.

This is the new focus of the Republican hate against us, they think they have found a clink in our armor… student athletes.

Then there is a bill that was introduced down Arizona that is totally ridiculous (No surprise there, it was introduced by a Republican).

Arizona Republican introduces bill to ban the word “homosexuality” from public schools
And that's only the beginning of what she wants.
LGBTQ Nation
By Daniel Villarreal Thursday,
January 9, 2020

Republican Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen has proposed legislation to remove the word “homosexuality” from all public school teaching materials and to prevent any student below the age of 12 from receiving sex education. The legislation is scheduled for hearing by the Senate’s Education Committee on Jan. 14, 2019

Progressive lobbyist Geoff Esposito says that Allen’s legislation is merely a conservative response to the state’s April 2019 repeal of its infamous “no promo homo” law which prohibited instruction in HIV/AIDS curriculum that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle” or “suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex.”
[…]
Esposito says Allen’s proposed legislation shows that “’anti-LGBT forces’ have been losing ground in recent years,” adding, “[Conservatives] are pushing an incredibly unpopular issue among the exact people they need to win over, and threatening vulnerable legislators’ re-election with a bad vote that will get a ton of media attention.”

Being an election you are going to see a big Republican push to attack us. They see it as a wedge issue and will be pushing them because the public just does not understand that trans athletes. We have to make sure that the Republicans don’t brand the issue like they tried go do with “Bathroom Bills.”