"Sports are a big part of athleticism, with speed, strength and agility making up the characteristics of an athlete. Though recently, there has been less transgender INCLUSION in athletics at various levels of play. New policies have been and are being thrown out by multiple governments all over the US." -- Daria Oxley, 8th grade
Sports are a big part of athleticism, with speed, strength and agility making up the characteristics of an athlete. Though recently, there has been less transgender inclusion in athletics at various levels of play. New policies have been and are being thrown out by multiple governments all over the US.
During the 2022 legislative session, dozens of states will consider bills related to LGBTQ+ discrimination. Some bills will advance to give LGBTQ+ people non-discriminatory laws that is needed. Whereas others will definitely attempt to single out and target LGBTQ+ people for unfair and unequal treatment. Some bills such as these have been stopped quickly, though recently there were two hotly debated Republican bills that the Kansas Governor, Laura Kelly, shot down. One banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports, and another forcing schools to let parents challenge classroom curriculum.
“We all want a fair and safe place for our kids to play and compete,” Kansas Government Laura Kelly wrote in a Friday veto message on the trans athlete ban. “However, this bill… came from politicians trying to score political points.” Though this bill has been vetoed there is still debate over it and Republicans vowed to launch an override effort in the coming weeks even though it had been previously criticized for targeting members of the LGBTQ+.
“As states across the country push transphobic legislation, some Republicans in the General Assembly are wasting time attempting the same in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Tom Wolf wrote on Twitter last month. “It won’t get past my desk.”
Some government officials such as Wolf are supportive of LGBTQ+ people and will stop discriminatory bills while others, not so much. Nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been filed in 2022 so far, most of them targeting transgender people. As more rights for the LGBTQ+ community are spoken about, the annual number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills to have been filed has skyrocketed over the past several years, from 41 in 2018, to 238 in less than three months of this year.
Even just last month, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law banning transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams, cementing the state as the 13th nationwide to enact such a measure. The arguments most government officials who signed bills recently have said something similar to what Kevin said when he enacted the bill stating that doing so “is just common sense.”
The extent of these laws and the people who are targeting LBGTQ+ people appear to all have the same mentality, which is going for political points. No regard is being held on behalf of the LGBTQ+ and all the discriminating laws; which is almost a dozen. It also affects medical care, specifically those who are teenagers. In Texas, health providers are suspending gender-affirming care for teens in response to GOP (Grand Old Party, which is the nickname for Republican Party) efforts. Transgender teenagers now are grappling with narrowing access to medical care in a state where adequate, inclusive health care is already hard to come by. The lack of access has driven some to secure a substandard quality of care and others to stop seeking care altogether.
Transgender people are more visible in the media and in our society than ever before. But while great progress has been made, there’s still a lot of work to do to make sure everyone feels safe expressing their true gender identity and are given the same rights as cisgender people.
During the 2022 legislative session, dozens of states will consider bills related to LGBTQ+ discrimination. Some bills will advance to give LGBTQ+ people non-discriminatory laws that is needed. Whereas others will definitely attempt to single out and target LGBTQ+ people for unfair and unequal treatment. Some bills such as these have been stopped quickly, though recently there were two hotly debated Republican bills that the Kansas Governor, Laura Kelly, shot down. One banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports, and another forcing schools to let parents challenge classroom curriculum.
“We all want a fair and safe place for our kids to play and compete,” Kansas Government Laura Kelly wrote in a Friday veto message on the trans athlete ban. “However, this bill… came from politicians trying to score political points.” Though this bill has been vetoed there is still debate over it and Republicans vowed to launch an override effort in the coming weeks even though it had been previously criticized for targeting members of the LGBTQ+.
“As states across the country push transphobic legislation, some Republicans in the General Assembly are wasting time attempting the same in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Tom Wolf wrote on Twitter last month. “It won’t get past my desk.”
Some government officials such as Wolf are supportive of LGBTQ+ people and will stop discriminatory bills while others, not so much. Nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been filed in 2022 so far, most of them targeting transgender people. As more rights for the LGBTQ+ community are spoken about, the annual number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills to have been filed has skyrocketed over the past several years, from 41 in 2018, to 238 in less than three months of this year.
Even just last month, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law banning transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams, cementing the state as the 13th nationwide to enact such a measure. The arguments most government officials who signed bills recently have said something similar to what Kevin said when he enacted the bill stating that doing so “is just common sense.”
The extent of these laws and the people who are targeting LBGTQ+ people appear to all have the same mentality, which is going for political points. No regard is being held on behalf of the LGBTQ+ and all the discriminating laws; which is almost a dozen. It also affects medical care, specifically those who are teenagers. In Texas, health providers are suspending gender-affirming care for teens in response to GOP (Grand Old Party, which is the nickname for Republican Party) efforts. Transgender teenagers now are grappling with narrowing access to medical care in a state where adequate, inclusive health care is already hard to come by. The lack of access has driven some to secure a substandard quality of care and others to stop seeking care altogether.
Transgender people are more visible in the media and in our society than ever before. But while great progress has been made, there’s still a lot of work to do to make sure everyone feels safe expressing their true gender identity and are given the same rights as cisgender people.