So What’s The Difference?

 Ask yourself what is the difference between these two examples?

"A war within a war": Transgender woman says transphobia and discriminatory laws keeping her hostage in Kyiv during Russian invasion
CBS News
By Li Cohn
March 1, 2022


Zi Faámelu was born and raised in Crimea, an area of Ukraine that was invaded and taken over by Russia in 2014. Now the 31-year-old lives in Kyiv, the capital city that has been under Russian siege for nearly a week. She is running out of food and hasn't left her house for days as gunfire erupts outside.

And she says she can't leave. 

Faámelu, who is transgender, said that transphobia is pervasive in the city and neighboring countries, and fears that if she leaves, the tension of the ongoing conflict will make her more susceptible to violence. Faámelu was previously a popular contestant on the Ukrainian singing competition show "Star Factory."

[…]

"This is not a very rainbow-friendly place. ... Lives for trans people are very bleak here," Faámelu said. "If you have a male gender in your passport, they will not let you go abroad. They will not let you through."

She is worried if Russia wins because Russia are strongly anti-LGBTQ+ she fears she will be oppressed by them.

"In Russia, LGBTQ people are persecuted," Iulia, an 18-year-law student in Kharkiv, told CBS News' Haley Ott. "If we imagine that Russia occupies all of the Ukraine or just a big part of the country, they won't allow us to exist peacefully and to fight for our rights as we are able to do that in Ukraine right now." 

She is afraid of her future.

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Around our nation there are over a hundred bills attacking trans children, blocking them form getting medical treatment, limiting the bathrooms options, and banning them from school activities.

Culture war around care for transgender kids heats up
Axios
By Tina Reed
March 6, 2022


The confrontation over gender-affirming care for transgender youth hit a boil this week as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott doubled down on his call for state officials to investigate "transition care" for minors as "child abuse."

Driving the news: Even as Abbott's team called the issue a political "winner," major medical groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics condemned the stance, saying it trampled on the doctor-patient relationship and injected politics into medical care.

Why it matters: Research has demonstrated transgender kids are more prone to anxiety, depression, and suicide than their peers, adding a high degree of urgency to the issue, experts say.

State of play: Legislation to block gender-affirming care for minors was introduced in at least 21 states in the last year alone, according to the UCLA Williams Institute.

• In Idaho, legislation was introduced in a state House committee last month to ban gender-affirming surgery on minors.
• In Arkansas last year, lawmakers banned administering puberty blockers or hormones to transgender youth. The law is being challenged in court and has not taken effect.
• Tennessee also banned "gender-confirming" care for minors last year.

We are afraid of our future, what new anti-trans laws they will bring.

So tell me what is the difference between the authoritarian government of Russia and the Republican party?