L.A. Times: Don't Sign Anti-Trans Petition

[Carolyn Marie]

https://news.yahoo.com/editorial-want-protect-children-dont-130050575.html

 

 

I'm glad to see the L.A. Times come out strongly against this petition.  It intends to codify and justify state interference in parental rights and the rights of trans youth, as well as codify bigotry in CA.  I'm disappointed that it made it this far in the process.

 

I've been thinking about what I might do to discourage people from signing this.  Standing next to the signature gatherer with a big sign is one possibility.  However, I am not keen on getting into heated arguments or facing threats of physical harm.  I'll explore my options.

 

Carolyn Marie

[Ivy]

Wow.  This is unsettling.  But I'm not sure what it would mean.  Is this a constitutional amendment?   Would it change the law, or is it just a suggestion?

Can a majority of voters simply take our rights away?  

If most people are actually indifferent, that doesn't help much with the haters in power.

[KathyLauren]

10 minutes ago, Ivy said:

Wow.  This is unsettling.  But I'm not sure what it would mean.  Is this a constitutional amendment?   Would it change the law, or is it just a suggestion?

Can a majority of voters simply take our rights away?  

If most people are actually indifferent, that doesn't help much with the haters in power.

 

I believe that, in California, a ballot initiative is voted on in a general election and becomes law if the majority votes for it.  Direct democracy rather than representative democracy.

 

The proposal is probably not constitutional, but that won't stop them from trying it.  Someone then has to fight it in court to overturn it.

[VickySGV]

Considering the site of the petition's originator is one of the few scarlet shaded counties north of Sacramento (our State capitol) with a very small percentage of the state voters, the circulators are in for an uphill climb to get it seriously going. We have had some really screwball stuff come from other of those counties, such as one even closer to my area where a shoot on sight type of law against Gay people was proposed for an initiative.  Most of the  initiatives never make it because the signature gathering in the big counties leads to problems with signature verification issues and the petition gatherers do not check drivers licenses, and one time I was actually handed one to sign marked for a county I do not live in.  The signature gatherer told me it was Ok to sign it though, a clear law violation.  PS I did NOT sign it.

[Ivy]

1 hour ago, VickySGV said:

a shoot on sight type of law against Gay people was proposed for an initiative

What the duck?

[awkward-yet-sweet]

Since petition is a right guaranteed in the 1st Amendment,  the logical place to start fighting a petition is with the other aspects of the 1st Amendment.  So, counter-petition, speech, assembly, and the press.  Could probably start a counter-petition and take signatures in the same place at the same time.  

[Carolyn Marie]

7 hours ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

Since petition is a right guaranteed in the 1st Amendment,  the logical place to start fighting a petition is with the other aspects of the 1st Amendment.  So, counter-petition, speech, assembly, and the press.  Could probably start a counter-petition and take signatures in the same place at the same time.  

 

I don't think we have "counter petitions" in California, or even what that would look like.  But certainly everything else you mentioned is fair game.  We have lots of trans rights groups in CA, especially in the cities, so as VickySGV mentioned, getting this onto the ballot, and getting 50% + 1 in an election, will be a steep climb.  On the other hand, if polls are to be believed, trans rights isn't the "thing" it was a few years ago.  The torrent of right wing publicity has had its effects even here.

 

Carolyn Marie

[awkward-yet-sweet]

1 hour ago, Carolyn Marie said:

I don't think we have "counter petitions" in California, or even what that would look like. 

 

Maybe its not called that in Cali, and I'm not sure why it wouldn't be permitted.  Maybe it simply isn't the local habit or custom?  But the idea is that if one side is collecting signatures to ban a specific item or behavior, you create a proposition that says the exact opposite.  It won't stop the original proposition, but if you get enough signatures it puts two equal/opposite measures on the ballot.  It calls greater attention to the issue than a single measure would by itself.  And by taking signatures for an opposing measure, you can do so in the same places and at the same times, which puts up an extra barrier to the harassment you might face by merely protesting. 

 

Also, it creates a kind of legal tripwire.  If neither measure gets passed, you win.  If yours passes and the opposition's measure fails, you win.  If by some weird happenstance both pass, it probably goes to court since laws shouldn't be contradictory.  If the court is in your favor, you win.  3 out of 4 possible outcomes favor you (although all outcomes are not equally probable.) 

 

 

[Ivy]

9 hours ago, Carolyn Marie said:

The torrent of right wing publicity has had its effects even here.

I'm beginning to see that here as well.  

[KatieSC]

As frustrated as I can get, I have come to the realization that the attacks on us are going to continue in various formats. One of the best things we can do is be our best selves and prove the neigh sayers wrong. The conservatives are highly organized, and they have a media outlet that has put us right on the pointiest part of a nasty arrow. That media company takes any opportunity to push any story where an LGBTQ and in particular, any transgender individual messes up. They push the worst stories and the public thinks the worst of us. The public often does not see the good that we provide to this world. There are many of us trans brothers and sisters who have served our country in various capacities. There are many of us who get up everyday and slug it out at work. There are many of us who struggle with our lifelong journey. Some of us are very fortunate, while many of us do not have the resources. Regardless, these meritless attacks take their toll. 

 

I suspect that in time, this movement to crucify us will fade. There is hope in the younger generations coming up who see their classmates being marginalized. I hope the future is better for these kids.

[Ivy]

7 hours ago, KatieSC said:

I hope the future is better for these kids.

I hope so too.

For now, I feel like we are in survival mode.  A lot hangs on this next election.  We can already see what one party's plans for us are.  There are plenty of examples.

[emeraldmountain2]

8 hours ago, KatieSC said:

One of the best things we can do is be our best selves and prove the neigh sayers wrong.

This is what I'm trying my best to do. It's not easy being a "model minority," but it is critical to put a good face forward in these times.

[awkward-yet-sweet]

7 hours ago, Ivy said:

For now, I feel like we are in survival mode.  A lot hangs on this next election. 

 

I know the feeling.  And unfortunately, I feel like we're screwed either way in the next federal election.  The best hope we have is inertia...a government functions best when it functions least. 

 

6 hours ago, emeraldmountain2 said:

This is what I'm trying my best to do. It's not easy being a "model minority," but it is critical to put a good face forward in these times.

 

Tough, but critical.  And the more conservative a place you live in, the more critical it is.  The interesting thing I've seen in my area is that the thoughts of conservative voters don't really track with what the media is putting out.  They care about the economy, inflation, fuel, foreign wars... not trans folks.  And there's growing frustration that we're all the media and politicians want to talk about. 

 

For me, the biggest part of being the "model minority" has been to emphasize being the opposite of what folks expect. 

[emeraldmountain2]

6 hours ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

The interesting thing I've seen in my area is that the thoughts of conservative voters don't really track with what the media is putting out. 

This is good to hear, thank you.

[Britney Summers]

The issue at hand are the schools over stepping the boundary line. Parental rights being stripped out.  Much got exposed during the lock downs, soft martial law.  

[Ivy]

I have some reservations about force-outting students though.