I Think Everyone Knows This.

I think we all know that these anti-LGBTQ+ laws are causing us harm.

Opinion: Research shows the harms of not affirming LGBTQ+ identity

Anti-LGBTQ+ policies are detrimental to the health of Iowans and the health and prosperity of our state.

Des Moines Register

By Nicole Tayor-Irwin

March 19, 2023

[…]

First, all sexual orientations and gender identities should be affirmed. All major professional medical and mental health organizations in the United States recognize individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and queer as a part of the spectrum of psychologically healthy identities. 

Second, bills such as House File 348 that ban educators from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity are harmful to children, according to the Journal of Research on Adolescence. If this bill passes, research suggests that Iowa children will experience increases in bullying, isolation, and mental health problems as a result, according to the Archives of Medical Research. Supportive teachers and LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum are associated with less victimization and harassment of LGTBQ+ students by their fellow students, greater self-esteem, higher GPAs, and fewer missed days of school, accoring to the Journal of School Violence. Inclusive sex education programs improve feelings of safety at school and reduce adverse mental health outcomes for all students, according to the Journal of Adolescent Health.

[…]

Finally, bills like House FIle 348 are wrong for Iowa. They are hateful, discriminatory, and divisive. Research indicates that living in areas with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is associated with increased health care costs. Similar legislation passed in other states has deterred business, tourism, and movement into the state. For example, North Carolina’s passing of anti-transgender legislation has been estimated by many to cost the state between millions, and up to billions, of revenue. A 2022 report from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that Iowa’s "brain drain" is one of the worst in the United States. People are less likely to choose Iowa as a home for their careers and families if these bills succeed.

We all know that!

The Republicans know that. The right-wingers know that. Everyone knows that the legislation hurts us.

Anti-LGBTQ+ policies are detrimental to the health of Iowans and the health and prosperity of our state. We urge lawmakers to vote no on these bills to protect the mental health of our children and families.

But that is what they exactly want to do hurt us!

They want to force us back in the closet!

They want to criminalize us!

They want to eradicate us*!

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Karine Jean-Pierre condemns CPAC speaker’s call to ‘eradicate transgenderism’
Jean-Pierre also condemned anti-LGBTQ bills
The Washington Bladr
By Christopher Kane
March 10, 2023


White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned comments by a conservative pundit who called for the “eradication of transgenderism” during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last weekend in suburban Maryland.

“I just want to take a step back a moment and really call out the shameful, hateful, and dangerous attacks that we have been seeing on the LGBTQI community as we’ve seen this week, as I said, and also last week,” Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing Friday.