(film reel clattering) - Welcome to today's national weekly EMS Zoom news briefing.

I'm Sandy Close, your moderator for today, and EMS director.

[background music] Our briefing today focuses on the war on transgender people.

So far this year, more bills targeting transgender rights have been introduced and become law than at any time in U.S. history.

And, I have to say, they're some of the most extreme legislation I have ever read.

Some 29 bills have already become law in 14 states compared to 20 bills passed into law in 12 states last year, according to an analysis of ACLU data, by the Washington Post.

In a number of states, healthcare providers face felony charges for providing gender affirming care, and that's only one example.

[background music fades] Our speakers today will update us on this war from the front lines in three states: Florida, Texas, and North Carolina.

Our fourth speaker shares stories of families fleeing for safe havens from states where anti-trans laws have gone into effect or are about to do so.

Our speakers, to whom we are very grateful, include Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida; Texas state representative, Gene Wu, Democrat from serving the Houston greater region; Sailor Jones, associate director of Common Cause, North Carolina; and Susan Maasch, founder of the Trans Youth Equality Foundation.

So, let's begin, and we begin with Nadine Smith of Equality Florida.

Thank you, Nadine.

- Well, thank you.

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this.

The conversation that we're having, I will tell you about the bills that we have seen pass in Florida.

But I think the bigger story, and the most important thing to understand is not only the what, but the why.

[audio distorts] So, in Florida, one session- our sessions last 60 days- a bill was brought forward that-- or actually, two sessions ago.

A bill was brought forward that would ban trans athletes from playing sports, even though, in the history of Florida, in more than a decade, there hadn't been more than 10 trans athletes and there were existing guidelines in place to provide fairness.

What became clear was somewhere, some think tank had come up with the idea that Americans were not very familiar with trans people, even less familiar with trans youth, and therefore, for purposes of political scapegoating, they were an easy target.

And, the idea that, that was true became the proof that it was true because the architect that this coordinated, multi-state attack on trans people were actually quite willing to share in the New York Times.

As they put it, after marriage stopped being a wedge issue and a strong consensus of Americans support marriage equality for same-sex couples as well as hetero couples, they needed a new target.

They needed something else that they could whip people into a frenzy about.

And, they did a lot of focus-group testing and what they came back with was trans issues make people uncomfortable and trans youth issues made them even more uncomfortable.

So, suddenly, out of nowhere, you see these bills popping up in Flor- in legislatures all across the country.

In addition to a six-week ban on abortion, a bill-- we've seen bills that target drag shows and pride festivals by issuing vague threats of fines and criminal charges to intimidate businesses that have drag performances or local governments that host pride events.

And, in addition to what the letter of the law is, the rhetoric surrounding it was so overheated and so dehumanizing that we also, in the final weeks, saw the return of the anti-trans bathroom bill that perpetuates discrimination and the exclusion of trans Floridians.

And, it deputizes pretty much anyone to challenge your presence in a restroom.

And, the enforcement of it is quite vague.

So, if I were to encounter anyone here on the way to a restroom, I have the right under this law to challenge whether or not you're able to be there, and if you don't leave, you can face criminal charges.

Technically, you could be compelled to prove your chromosomal biology in order to avoid being in violation of that law.

In addition to a takeover of higher education where they've defunded diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and many schools are fearful that any programming towards the LGBTQ community or racial minorities, it's also at risk under this.

And then, finally, and perhaps the most chilling overreach of government power, is a dangerous ban on lifesaving medical care for trans youth.

This is the law that overrules a parent's right to seek medical care for their trans child.

It criminalizes healthcare providers who provide that care consistent with the guidance of major medical organizations across the country, and it also restricts access to that care for adults, even those who have been receiving that care successfully for decades.

We are fighting over the definition of freedom and we are fighting over the definition of democracy, and everybody has a stake in that.

You don't have to know a trans person to understand that when schools are being told you must take books off of the library, where you cannot teach about racial justice, that you cannot tell the truth about American history.

So, I'm gonna pause there because I certainly wanna leave a few more moments for questions.

But, the headline is, it is an attack on the trans community; it is an attack on the LGBT community; it is an effort to whitewash American history so that we don't speak honestly about race; it is an attempt to not make America great again, but to remove the progress of decades.

- Thank you very much, Nadine.

I let you speak longer because you have to leave early for another appointment.

Our next speaker is Representative Gene Wu, who is joining us while the session in the Texas legislature is still going full tilt.

Thank you for taking time out, and welcome to this briefing on the war on transgender people.

Please tell us how you see this playing out in Texas.

- My name is Gene Wu.

I'm the state rep out of southwest Houston.

So, we're actually here today-- I'm geared up for to fight our anti-trans bill on the floor today.

In fact, this is the third time we've dealt with this.

We've managed to send this bill back twice, back to the committee, and finding procedural errors in it and forcing it to go back.

And, they're bringing out for a third time.

And normally when a bill gets killed that many times, it gets sent back that many times, a lot times, you know, leadership just says, "you know what?

No more.

We're done."

You know?

'Cause it's taking up too much time, too much resources, too much attention; time and attention that we could be using to do other things, anything else; anything that's important to the state.

And, I think it says a lot to the fact that they're devoting this much effort to going after a small, minority population that really has done nothing to any of them, and not done anything to those communities, but they're going after them.

And, unfortunately, this is actually pretty standard m.o.

So, in years past?

Look, we've had, back a long time, we had plenty of anti-LGBT bills, period.

Where, 'cause they were just a convenient target of the time.

And, after a while, after LGBT people became more accepted, after the Windsor case, after Obergefell, some of that went away.

You know, they still have other targets and, unfortunately, the trans community, and even within the LGBTQ community, the support for trans rights, the support for trans people, are not as strong as they probably should be.

And so, the basic m.o.

for the legislature- of any legislature- and especially the Texas legislature, is we-- the people in charge look for communities, look for groups, that are convenient targets that the people in general don't, like, necessarily understand, may not have the most sympathy for.

They're sort of a-?

You know, there's always sort of an "ick" factor that they use and we legislate against them.

We beat the crap out of them in the law and say, "We did it.

We fought back against those people."

The people who want to oppress minority communities, the people who want to use people who have little power as the foil, as the enemy, as the monster that they wanna slay, their-- the hate is all the same.

The only thing that changes are the names of the victims.

And so, either we fight together, either we all stand up and we fight together and say, "No, leave people the hell alone," or, you know-?

Or, "you're gonna be next."

And, that's just it.

So, I don't know that we-- that Democrats can stop the anti-trans bill in Texas.

We're gonna do our damnedest.

We've sent it back twice; maybe we can send it back a third time.

But, I think the Republicans are gonna keep trying because this is apparently a hot button issue for them and we've had people who've told us.

Like, "look, "I don't really care about this stuff.

"I don't really wanna do this, but "we campaigned on it in the primary and if we don't do it, then they're gonna primary me."

And, you know, basically, it's just a really fancy way of saying "I'm a coward, "and I refuse to do what's right, but I'm happy to do what's politically expedient."

So, (hesitates) what is going to actually stop this, the real thing that will stop this, in this entire line of attacks, not only against trans community or the LGBTQ community, or against the African American [audio freezes] community, Hispanic community, Afro Muslim community, and Asian community and everyone else, is for good people, average Americans, average Texans, to stand up and say no.

No more.

Enough.

Right?

And to say, like, "look.

"We don't like it when you guys do these issues.

"We like it when you work on education.

"We like it when you work on health care.

"We like it when you pay teachers.

"We like it when you make sure we have enough parks, "and you make sure we have enough hospitals.

"Those are the things that matter to us.

"When you focus on these type of issues, we will punish you and we will vote against you."

Alright?

And, it's already starting to happen.

I think there's already been a backlash, at a national level, against Republicans for focusing so tightly onto, like, banning CRT, anti-LGBT issues, going after abortion and contraception, and all these other things.

In Texas, we have bigger questions.

In Texas we have, like, "have you fixed the damn grid yet?"

No!

Right?

Every single time there's a weather event, we're like, "are we gonna lose power today?"

(hesitates) And, you know, have we taken care of public education?

No!

Right?

Teachers?

They got a small raise, but probably it's still not enough.

Have we fixed-?

How 'bout healthcare issues?

No, we haven't.

We still have not expanded Medicaid.

So, (hesitates) I think it's important for people, for our communities to, one, learn about all these issues, and say, like-- Look.

I am not trans, and I may not have a lot of trans friends, but I understand that they have a right to live their lives the way they see fit.

They have a right to consult their own doctors.

They have a right to consult their own families, and they have a right to do what they feel is necessary to keep themselves alive and keep themselves happy, just as I have a right to do what I see fit and control my own body and control my own health care.

I don't think that, you know, is a hard thing to ask.

- Thank you so much for your-- sharing your situation and your perspective on this.

Now, we go to Sailor Jones.

- Thank you, Sandy.

And, thanks to Representative Wu, especially his tie!

I know visibility is so important, even the colors of the trans flag today in Texas.

So, grateful to him and to Nadine for fighting the good fight in very tough environments: Florida and Texas, right now.

So, so grateful to them and very similar environment here in North Carolina, Sandy.

Like Florida and Texas, North Carolinians are no strangers to the highest of profile attacks on LGBT people over the past decade.

North Carolina was the last state to write anti-LGBT discrimination into our state's founding document, back in 2012 with a ban on marriage equality.

That was called Amendment 1, and a few years later, conservative lawmakers, many of whom are still in office due to gerrymandering, responded to local non-discrimination ordinances by passing what was known then as House Bill 2 what is the now infamous, so-called Bathroom Bill, here in North Carolina, that denied access to public restrooms for-- based on gender identity.

And, that kicked off state and national debates over the rights of trans people that continue today where, in many cases, fear and prejudice won out over basic common sense.

And, fortunately, House Bill 2 also kicked off a state and national boycott for travelers, similar to the travel warning that Nadine and Equality Florida set off around their anti-trans bills.

It also set off a boycott by business and even celebrities to the state of North Carolina that helped, ultimately, blunt the types of bills we're seeing today and the policies around them.

And so, it may come as no surprise, then, that at a time where nearly 500 anti-trans bills have already been introduced in 49 of 50 states, one of those states now includes North Carolina.

And, those bills include proposals that would erode student confidentiality with school personnel.

They seek to restrict trans people from receiving gender affirming care, and prevent trans youth who already face challenges in terms of discrimination and mental health challenges, from participating in affirming sports that align with their gender identity.

So, advocates for LGBTQ rights have been tracking upwards of a dozen anti-trans proposals in North Carolina's General Assembly in 2023, across multiple categories, many of which Nadine and Representative Wu mentioned: in education, health care, and sports.

And, several of these bills have already advanced through at least one chamber, bills called the so-called "Parent's Bill of Rights," which would require healthcare providers to get written parental consent before even treating trans young people, including for gender affirming questions, putting trans youth at risk of violence.

Bills called, the so-called "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," which would bar trans youth from the sports that they identify with.

And, things like surgical and gender...bars for trans minors, which would limit lifesaving care for young people in North Carolina.

We've even seen a bill, in addition to drag bans, and Don't Say Gay bills, that fortunately stalled in the North Carolina house that would have given healthcare providers a license to discriminate against trans youth.

Any healthcare service that quote/unquote, "violates their conscience."

So, like so many states, legislators have made it their mission to limit kids' sports participation based on their gender identity, as well as ban drag performances and other types of LGBT curriculum in schools.

But, I wanna mention, maybe unlike some other states, these bills are not the only thing fueling anti-LGBT rhetoric, [audio distorts] as they are in North Carolina.

As he prepares for his expected campaign for governor next year, North Carolina's current lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, continues to amp up high-profile rhetoric against LGBT people that has become a key part of his campaign and his political brand, similar to Governor Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump.

Mark Robinson said recently, on the campaign trail, that God formed him to fight LGBT issues and he added that "a church that flies the rainbow flag is a direct spit in the face of God Almighty", and that the transgender so-called "movement" is of the antichrist.

So, Robinson is currently making the rounds at Black churches in the region where I grew up, northeastern North Carolina, the state's Black belt, in the hopes of using his fear campaign to sow hatred towards the anti-- or, the LGBT community, rather and build support for hate-mongering ahead of the high profile 2024 presidential elections, elections I know we're all looking towards and that many of these bills are designed to sow hate and division between political parties ahead of those high profile elections.

So, we're seeing a lot of the same things that Representative Wu has seen in Texas, Nadine has seen in Florida, right here in the Tar Heel State, Sandy.

- With truly a divided country with trans rights as perhaps the most unexpected, but deeply felt wedge issue, how do you read the public, where the public is at?

And, it's a question for all of us because we are in the business of informing, engaging, and advocating for the issues we care deeply about in our communities.

Let's start with Representative Wu.

- I think the public is still unsure, especially specifically on trans issues.

I think the public is probably comfortable with LGBT, in a sense of they are-- like, marriage equality and things like that, I think that's all water under the bridge and people are like, "okay, it is what it is."

I think in trans health, in terms of trans healthcare, they're right.

And also, somebody asked a question, who's "they?"

It's the Republicans.

I mean, I know this is a nonpartisan event, but I mean, there's very clearly one side doing this and Republicans have carefully navigated and narrated a story, the background of, "well, we're just protecting the kids.

We're protecting the kids."

And, we have talked to those families who say, "we don't want your protection "because your protection makes our kids not-- "makes our kids hate themselves and think about taking their own lives."

We've talked to the doctors who say, like, "those kids don't need your protection because we're looking after them."

But, I think what will make the biggest difference is for the media, for advocates, for people who are allies, people need to know that trans people are just normal people, that they're just-- you probably know someone who is trans.

You just don't realize it, right?

Just like people changed their mind about LGBT, about marriage equality, because there was if I would say "oh!

Actually, a lot of-- there's a lot of gay and lesbian people who-- that are in their everyday lives.

And all of a sudden, when people come out, they say, "Hey.

You know I'm gay, right?"

And, they go, "Oh, really?"

It's like, "can I ask you to make sure that," you know, "you support me and my husband getting married, and whatever else?"

And people can say, "Oh, okay.

"okay.

Well?

That's different, then."

Right?

Like Dick Cheney all of a sudden, you know, when his daughter came out, it's like all of a sudden, it's like, "oh, Dick Cheney is very progressive "in terms of LGBT issues because his daughter is LGBT".

Right?

I know it sounds stupid, but that's what it really is.

It's like, people- like, especially conservatives- don't care unless it's somebody they care about.

- [Sandy] Yeah.

- And, I think what we need to do is find more people, advocate for people by saying, "hey, you know that so-and-so, who's your friend, who's your co-worker, who's in your family, is actually trans, right?

- [Sandy] One-?

- So?

- Thank you.

One minute, Sailor.

Your last thoughts on this question.

- Well, Sandy?

You hit the nail on the head when you talked about isolation.

Obviously that may be the intent of these laws to isolate trans people and make them separate from society.

It's also the impact of these laws.

As trans people face these proposals and rules, they are separate and apart from the families, the doctors, the schools, the infrastructure that they so desperately need.

And, I think it behooves the media, now, to make the connection as they have, [background music] as Representative Wu did for marriage equality.

It's no surprise that when the Dobbs decision came down from the U.S. Supreme Court, stripping many Americans of abortion access almost immediately that LGBT activists sounded the alarm that we, in the form of marriage rights, and other privacy protections, could be next.

The LGBT community knows well and has long understood that our liberation is inextricably tied to your liberation.

It's time the media and the public understand the reverse of that, the vice versa of that, and understand that their liberation is tied to trans rights, too.

- Okay, thank you.

Thank you so much, and thanks to our media and interpreters.

This is such a vitally important topic, and for bringing it to the surface and giving us a chance to learn more so we can better cover it.

Thank you, and this conference is now closed.

♪