Transgender lawmaker Leigh Finke on the political backlash surrounding trans rights

Geoff Bennett:

The issue of transgender rights has rarely been so prominent in American politics, from presidential campaign ads, to the election of the first openly trans member of Congress, to arguments this past week at the U.S. Supreme Court.

William Brangham is back to talk with one recent pioneer about how she sees this current moment.

William Brangham:

My guest is no stranger to both the triumphs and the vitriol surrounding transgender rights in America.

Two years ago, Leigh Finke became the first trans person elected to the Minnesota state legislature. And even though she endured numerous threats, she leveraged her position and a Democratic majority to help pass legislation protecting other trans people in her state.

Leigh Finke, so nice to have you on the program.

As I said, you have been in office almost two years now, but this is a seemingly very fraught time for trans rights in this country, with this past election and all of those attacks, the first openly trans member of the U.S. Congress, and now the Supreme Court case this week.

I just wonder how this is — how has this been for you the last few months?

State Rep. Leigh Finke (D-MN):

Yes, it's been a lot. And thank you so much for inviting me and for having trans voices on your show.

I think what we have seen over the last couple of months, I mean, it is a compounding pile of difficulty for a community that is very small, that we have received so much outsized attention, given the impact and size that we have in the communities that we exist in. We're struggling. We're all struggling and trying to figure out what all of this is going to mean.

William Brangham:

You were here while the Supreme Court was arguing this case. That case centered around Tennessee's attempt to ban trans care for trans children.

And the justices had a lot of different arguments about that case. And I wonder, listening to what they had to say, what stood out to you?

State Rep. Leigh Finke:

I mean, what stood out to me is that we are trying to figure out a very complicated answer to a very simple question, which is that gender-affirming care is health care, and health care decisions belong to families and doctors, and they do not belong to politicians or the courts.

We do not do this for other forms of health care. There is a very specific reason that trans people's health care is under the microscope that it is, and it is because we are trans. There is no way to understand this other than discrimination based on our identity.

And that this question continues to be asked and continues to be litigated and now is in front of the Supreme Court, it is incredibly difficult to hear people finding reasons to further discriminate and alienate trans people, especially our kids.

William Brangham:

It also seemed that the justices wanted to talk about other trans-related issues, bathrooms, sports.

Do you feel like this is just the beginning of an ongoing cascade?

State Rep. Leigh Finke:

Yes.

I mean, this cascade has been coming. I think, with the recent election and now what we're seeing at the court, it is going to really crash down. There is no reason to be talking about trans kids in sports. That is not a problem. There is no reason to be talking about trans people using the bathroom. That is not a problem.

The only reason we are here is because it is politically valuable. And until the conservative Republican institutions realize that this is a human — that they are hurting human people, and they are not just making hypothetical political arguments, they are going to continue.

William Brangham:

Yes, we have certainly seen those. I mean, Representative Nancy Mace here in Congress, as soon as we had a trans member of Congress, she introduces a bill to ban trans people using bathrooms that don't conform to the sex of their birth.

President Trump has vowed to get trans kids out of children's sports. I mean, do you think that this is, again, just — it seems like the GOP is very interested in pursuing this issue, even though you're arguing it's not really an issue.

State Rep. Leigh Finke:

No, it is not an issue.

We have existed. We have existed in the culture, whether or not other people have noticed. Now that our visibility is here, there is a pushback, and that pushback is getting extreme. You mentioned Nancy Mace and her — it was a historic moment for us to have a first congressperson elected in Sarah McBride.

And she didn't even get to be sworn in before she had the whole apparatus of the Republican House majority centered on her specifically, dehumanizing her, taking away her fundamental, basic dignity. It's beyond reproach.

William Brangham:

President-elect Trump, as you well know, spent tens of millions of dollars attacking Kamala Harris over her stance on trans rights.

And some Democrats are arguing that Democrats' embrace of trans rights cost them this election. Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton said that the Democratic Party is — quote — "out of touch" on trans issues and said — quote — "I have two little girls. I don't want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but, as a Democrat, I'm supposed to be afraid to say that."

What do you make of that argument?

State Rep. Leigh Finke:

It's wrong. It's hurtful. It's despicable to hear coming from someone inside of the Democratic establishment.

The Democratic — the national Democratic Party has accepted trans people into their coalition. We have been a part of not just their voting base, but they have embraced us and protected us and moved to have us be protected under their banner.

If they are going to adopt the framing of Republicans, which is what Congressman Moulton did in that quote that you just read, if they are going to try to embrace the dehumanizing, misgendering language of the Republicans, then it is going to become more and more difficult for trans people to remain a willing partner in that coalition.

And 90 percent of trans people voted for Kamala Harris. We are small, but we are mighty, and we hear that. We hear that, and we are worried about what it means for the future.

William Brangham:

All right, Representative Leigh Finke of Minnesota, thank you so much for being here.

State Rep. Leigh Finke:

Thank you.