Up to a third of us could lose the care that’s been proven to prevent suicide.

[Davie]

If anti-trans lawmakers got their way, I might not be alive today.  Over half of young trans people have contemplated suicide. Now up to a third of us could lose the care that’s been proven to prevent it. A bill that passed the Idaho House would sentence medical providers who offered gender-affirming care to life in prison.

 

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/opinion/2022/05/16/depleting-toxicity-trans-youth-face-must-come-end-opinion/9796439002/

 

[Ivy]

TBH, I believe these people would be perfectly happy for trans kids to die.  Then there would be even fewer of us.

Drive the tr****s to suicide…   Problem solved.   

[Heather Nicole]

It's all part of the big push to turn the country into a fundamentalist theocracy with feudalism-inspired economics. For all the screaming they do about "freedom", the only freedom that matters to them is the "freedom" to impose religious fundamentalism on everyone, by whatever means it takes.

[KathyLauren]

It is time the various medical regulatory associations stepped up and intervened.  Any time a legislator tells doctors what medical care they are not allowed to provide, they are practising medicine without a license.  These laws should be challenged on that basis.

 

If some state passed a law prohibiting doctors from treating heart attacks and these people's parents were affected by it, you can bet that they would be screaming their heads off about practising medicine without a license.

[Ivy]

14 minutes ago, Heather Nicole said:

It's all part of the big push to turn the country into a fundamentalist theocracy with feudalism-inspired economics.

I mean, I'm not into conspiracy thinking… but sometimes I wonder.

[Heather Nicole]

28 minutes ago, Jandi said:

I mean, I'm not into conspiracy thinking… but sometimes I wonder.

 

Well, I very much doubt that most of the people pushing for...the various policies they are pushing for...are actually aware that's what their desired policies really amount to.

[Astrid]

51 minutes ago, KathyLauren said:

Any time a legislator tells doctors what medical care they are not allowed to provide, they are practising medicine without a license.  These laws should be challenged on that basis.

 

Unfortunately, the conservative majority of the US Supreme Court has stated in public speeches that "freedom of religion" has long been a neglected and under-emphasized constitutional guarantee, and they wholeheartedly are promoting religious freedom to now have more emphasis, at the expense of other constitutional guarantees such as freedom of expression.  This allows them to justify increasingly heinous discrimination under the cloak of promoting religious freedom.  It's sick, sick thinking.  There's no longer a need for them to pretend that all citizens should and must be treated as equals.

 

 

[Astrid]

12 minutes ago, Heather Nicole said:

Well, I very much doubt that most of the people pushing for...the various policies they are pushing for...are actually aware that's what their desired policies really amount to.

 

I'd really, really like to believe that they're not aware... but 30-something percent of the US seem to tacitly think it would be OK to scrap our democracy and install an authoritarian government that enforces their will.  They've completely forgotten that the merit of a functioning democracy is that political parties sometimes win and sometimes lose.  

 

There's a reason I don't have a Facebook or Twitter account -- social media's oversized influence on public opinion is not something I wish to subject myself too.   As the bumper sticker says -- "Don't believe everything you think."

 

Astrid

[awkward-yet-sweet]

Life in prison?  Good God.  This is way beyond crazy.  As if we aren't #1 in the world for incarceration to start with. 

 

In my experience, the "lawmakers" of both red and blue varieties are way beyond what their constituents want.  I live in deep-red Trump country, and while it isn't exactly LGBTQ+ paradise here, you don't get mistreated by the general public.  Most people don't step out their door hating their neighbors first thing in the morning.  People of different ethnicities and languages live in peace.  I really hope that both sides can get a handle on their representatives in government. 

 

I'm the first generation of my family born in the USA.  I like it here, and it is way better than my parents' stories of war and hardship.  I grew up in the 90's and life was good.  I wish it could stay that way 😔

[VickySGV]

In 2017 we had people who were fearful and ignorant and who based their societal presence on that fear and ignorance gained a champion who took their cause  to use it for his personal aggrandizement in his quest for POWER and WORLD FAME  Wild theories that countered science and medicine and reached out to the imagination and  sorcery views of supernatural superiority rushed in to the magic cauldron that this "political leader" felt would bring him his deluded desires.  Giving that crowd their power has addicted them to ideas that they are superior to the educated and responsible individuals that we really need to have.  The champion gave them a taste of a potion and they are still craving it.

[Heather Nicole]

1 hour ago, Astrid said:

 

Unfortunately, the conservative majority of the US Supreme Court has stated in public speeches that "freedom of religion" has long been a neglected and under-emphasized constitutional guarantee, and they wholeheartedly are promoting religious freedom to now have more emphasis, at the expense of other constitutional guarantees such as freedom of expression.  This allows them to justify increasingly heinous discrimination under the cloak of promoting religious freedom.  It's sick, sick thinking.  There's no longer a need for them to pretend that all citizens should and must be treated as equals.

 

 

 

Yes. I've also noticed that these days, more and more, "freedom of religion" is taken to include "freedom to impose religion". Which of course turns it into the exact opposite of religious freedom, thus destroying the 2nd amendment under the guise of "protecting" it.

 

Too many people seem to treat spreading and imposing their religion as a core and necessary part of their own religious practices. It's disgusting.

[awkward-yet-sweet]

Freedom of religion is great.  I exercise it proudly.  I don't have a problem with spreading religion, and I even engage in it myself. 

 

What I'm seeing in politics these days has very little to do with religion, the freedom of it, or the desire to proselytize.  Religion is the excuse or the tool.  It isn't the thing itself, and theocracy has precious little to do with God.  We've seen this before in history.  The Inquisition comes to mind, but there are other examples.

 

America was founded to be a place for people of faith, and the founding documents assumed a benevolent Creator from whom our essential rights flow.  However, this nation was founded in direct conflict with the idea of a state-run and state-supported church, and without stating exact theology.  This was done on purpose to avoid some of the things we're experiencing now.  I think the Founders would weep at what is being advocated in their names. 

 

[Marcie Jensen]

21 minutes ago, Heather Nicole said:

 

Yes. I've also noticed that these days, more and more, "freedom of religion" is taken to include "freedom to impose religion". Which of course turns it into the exact opposite of religious freedom, thus destroying the 2nd amendment under the guise of "protecting" it.

 

Too many people seem to treat spreading and imposing their religion as a core and necessary part of their own religious practices. It's disgusting.

I think you meant FIRST Amendment. the second amendment refers to the right to keep and bear arms. Freedom of speech, assembly and religion all fall under the 1st amendment. As to the freedom of religion clause, that simply means that the federal government and the various states will not establish a national religion, as Great Britain had done with the Church of England. It doesn't mean the national establishment of the Southern Baptist Convention as the official religion of the United States.

 

While I agree with the overall point and concern for trans-children (sp?), or that a medical professional should face life imprisonment for properly treating anyone, based on what the government at all levels has failed accomplish, I doubt there is any conspiracy. Same goes for any religious group. As evidence, the house operates under rules that were originally established by the Presbyterian church to govern itself. I think that says it all...

 

[Marcie Jensen]

Well said @awkward-yet-sweet.

[Heather Nicole]

1 hour ago, Marcie Jensen said:

I think you meant FIRST Amendment. the second amendment refers to the right to keep and bear arms. Freedom of speech, assembly and religion all fall under the 1st amendment.

 

Egad! My cognitive flatulence strikes again! Yes, I meant first of course, not second.

 

1 hour ago, Marcie Jensen said:

I doubt there is any conspiracy.

 

I may have been unclear. FWIW, I didn't mean to imply any conspiracy. A "movement" would probably be a better term. Or whatever terminology one would classify the alt-right as.

 

1 hour ago, Marcie Jensen said:

Well said @awkward-yet-sweet.

 

Seconded!

 

(ok, now there's a "2nd" that I meant!)

[Guest]

5 hours ago, KathyLauren said:

It is time the various medical regulatory associations stepped up and intervened.  Any time a legislator tells doctors what medical care they are not allowed to provide, they are practising medicine without a license.  These laws should be challenged on that basis.

 

If some state passed a law prohibiting doctors from treating heart attacks and these people's parents were affected by it, you can bet that they would be screaming their heads off about practising medicine without a license.

Strangely enough, I know of a Speech Language Pathology (SLP) program at a very conservative university in the western states that may be forced to close its' because they stopped treating transgender patients at their clinic. Because of the discriminatory action by the university, it caught the attention of the accrediting body of the SLP programs. If they pull the university's accreditation, they will have to close the program. 

 

With regards to vicious laws like those in Idaho, it is interesting to note that in the 18-24 year old age group, 86.3% have thought about suicide at some point during their life. In the 45 to 74 age group, 74.4% have thought about suicide at some point in their life. With children 

As for the issue of the damage to children, there are approximately 150,000 known transgender children in the US. When one considers that for all transgender individuals, roughly 82% of considered suicide, while 40% have attempted suicide.

 

When one reviews the tasks of elected officials, especially representatives and senators, they are supposed to investigate and research when formulating laws. There is no way that these politicians did anything of this sort when proposing or enacting such anti-trans legislation. They could in theory be sued for legislative incompetence, malfeasance, and public endangerment. They would have immunity if they did their job properly, however, I am not sure that would be the case if it were proved that they acted in poor faith without speaking to experts in this area. 

 

The other issue is that we just happen to be a very convenient wedge issue that got hotter when Lia Thomas competed. Yes, she won...At what cost to the rest of us? That act caused us a lot ill will with many women who will vote in the next election. Typically, women have been more moderate on the issue of transgender rights and existence. Thomas really polarized that group. The Republican Party has been mining for wedge issues and they have a great propaganda machine in Fox News. If Hitler had Fox News to support him, we would be talking German right now. We are being targeted for their campaign in the mid-terms and presidential election. The Republicans want prove they were tough on somebody, and we happen to be convenient. 

 

We really could use a Republican with a brain who is supportive of Transgender rights, but also all LGBTQIA+ issues. We do not have any counter-balance at this point and the Republican Party is going nuts. They act like we are the root of all evil. I am waiting on the Governor of Texas to declare that the mass shooting was because the had a transgender student in the school. The amount of anti-trans legislation is insane. Unfortunately, some child who will be scared to come out because of all of this, may feel hopeless and kill themself. It really pisses me off to see these political clowns doing this to the vulnerable. 

 

Sincerely

Katie

[Ivy]

11 hours ago, Katie23 said:

I am waiting on the Governor of Texas to declare that the mass shooting was because the had a transgender student in the school.

Actually, this has already been done.   It just wasn't the governor.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/trans-womans-photo-used-spread-baseless-online-theory-texas-shooter-rcna30511

 

 

[Guest]

Tell me again why we keep Texas in the US?