Utah becomes the first state in 2023 to ban gender affirming care for trans youth. It takes effect immediately. Utah is the only state with such a law being enforced. Governor Cox has signed the bill.
Nice article Erin , But we have to do more in one of my three articles on my Substack yesterday I mentioned Utah and how hypocritical and disingenuous governor’s Cox statement was
He doesn’t really care about anyone in this community, waiting for courts to rule on what is clearly an attack on our constitutional rights is a strategy left for yesterday. As I explained and will expand on
There are actions concerned individuals and organizations can take, legal but sometimes “below the belt” strategies because that’s how we have to deal with the well funded groups out for public subservience
The Sponsor of the legislation that led to this law is Dr Michael Kennedy, A GP with no experience with transgender children
On his Facebook page and 5 other social media sites I discussed with concerned Utah residents how if they had any contact whatsoever in a medical context with the dear doctor and given his public appearances that’s just about any resident of the State of Utah, there are medical review sites were patients and potential patients can express their concerns about the science denying doctor , Statistics show that patients looking for new providers do visit these site though the vast majority do so around annual Insurance enrollment
This is how we win even if the Democrats haven’t leaned this, We take the fight to those who would attack our rights to body autonomy subscribe to my subStack and continue to follow Erin’s for new information
I want to vomit all over that sanctimonious windbag of a governor and his pet ignoramus of a so-called doctor. Is there a fund being set up to help transgender families flee the state? We don't live in Utah, but would be willing to donate to such a fund. There are jobs in WA, but the cost of living is quite a bit higher. WA is a safe haven for transgender families.
It’s important that LGBTQ+ organizations at the state level across the country act now to strengthen their own state’s supportive resources. Trans youth and families from hostile states are seeking out-of-state support, and we’ll need to provide additional funding locally, particularly to support patients and providers receiving Medicaid, and ensure that remote care (e.g. telehealth) is available and well-funded.
Hi Erin, I wanted to bring to your attention 2 works that are both informative about activism. First is the book "A Political History of Act Up New York, 1987-1993 - Let the Record Show", by Sarah Schulman. The book has lots of lessons on activism to the point where I am currently reading (it's 645 pages), and I am just about to the section that is explicitly about activism (page 411). I would recommend if people want to read the book as a primer on activism, that they skip right to page 411, because of the urgency our situation. But there is also a movie that I stumbled across a couple of nights ago, (it's on Amazon Prime, but may be available other places) and watched this afternoon, called United in Anger - a History of Act Up". It has a lot about activism. For instance, I would encourage people with LGBT kids where they have actually passed a really threatening law, like the law they just passed in Utah, to have a team ready to come on a moments notice, set up so at least 2 people are always quickly available, to come to your home immediately if the Child Protective services (CPS) arrives at your door. One should video record everything interaction, and especially the removal of the child if it comes to that. The child will probably be very upset - take that video to the local news and try to get them to put it on the local news. The other would be there as support and to try to run interference to at least slow things down and make things more difficult. I would suggest looking up both laws and rules, or better yet, see if you can get an employee of the CPS who can help you look for laws and rules that can put things to your advantage. Plus that video can become a legal record. If local TV Stations are playing it, it will put a lot of pressure on the Republicans. Get as many people as possible to picket the CPS office, picket the governor's residence, and the state house. If you can get a lot of people, stage a die in at the state house. if this continues to progress, have posters made of removed kids to display at protests. If you get a good opportunity to discuss, or better negotiate, plan a protest/die in (since so many kids hang themselves, the people "dieing" could wear nooses aroung their neck). Shock is a useful tool, and after all that is what they are threatening. The ideas go on and on.
Of course watch the video yourself and see what you think.
And I'm telling you all of this because you have the platform to diseminate information about the video quickly all over the country. There was one thing about the video - The act up folks didn't care what people thought about them, they needed access to the drugs so they could stop dyingl We obviously don't want to go there. We want people to care. Hope this helps. I'm going to pass this to the central office of PFLAG and to MamaBears for broader distribution
I suspect this is a very cynical act on Cox's part, performative politics, one that allows him to have his cake and eat it, too, in that he is relying on or expecting the courts to throw it out: the more extreme the bill, the more likely it will fail review.
Nice article Erin , But we have to do more in one of my three articles on my Substack yesterday I mentioned Utah and how hypocritical and disingenuous governor’s Cox statement was
He doesn’t really care about anyone in this community, waiting for courts to rule on what is clearly an attack on our constitutional rights is a strategy left for yesterday. As I explained and will expand on
There are actions concerned individuals and organizations can take, legal but sometimes “below the belt” strategies because that’s how we have to deal with the well funded groups out for public subservience
The Sponsor of the legislation that led to this law is Dr Michael Kennedy, A GP with no experience with transgender children
On his Facebook page and 5 other social media sites I discussed with concerned Utah residents how if they had any contact whatsoever in a medical context with the dear doctor and given his public appearances that’s just about any resident of the State of Utah, there are medical review sites were patients and potential patients can express their concerns about the science denying doctor , Statistics show that patients looking for new providers do visit these site though the vast majority do so around annual Insurance enrollment
This is how we win even if the Democrats haven’t leaned this, We take the fight to those who would attack our rights to body autonomy subscribe to my subStack and continue to follow Erin’s for new information
I want to vomit all over that sanctimonious windbag of a governor and his pet ignoramus of a so-called doctor. Is there a fund being set up to help transgender families flee the state? We don't live in Utah, but would be willing to donate to such a fund. There are jobs in WA, but the cost of living is quite a bit higher. WA is a safe haven for transgender families.
It’s important that LGBTQ+ organizations at the state level across the country act now to strengthen their own state’s supportive resources. Trans youth and families from hostile states are seeking out-of-state support, and we’ll need to provide additional funding locally, particularly to support patients and providers receiving Medicaid, and ensure that remote care (e.g. telehealth) is available and well-funded.
Hi Erin, I wanted to bring to your attention 2 works that are both informative about activism. First is the book "A Political History of Act Up New York, 1987-1993 - Let the Record Show", by Sarah Schulman. The book has lots of lessons on activism to the point where I am currently reading (it's 645 pages), and I am just about to the section that is explicitly about activism (page 411). I would recommend if people want to read the book as a primer on activism, that they skip right to page 411, because of the urgency our situation. But there is also a movie that I stumbled across a couple of nights ago, (it's on Amazon Prime, but may be available other places) and watched this afternoon, called United in Anger - a History of Act Up". It has a lot about activism. For instance, I would encourage people with LGBT kids where they have actually passed a really threatening law, like the law they just passed in Utah, to have a team ready to come on a moments notice, set up so at least 2 people are always quickly available, to come to your home immediately if the Child Protective services (CPS) arrives at your door. One should video record everything interaction, and especially the removal of the child if it comes to that. The child will probably be very upset - take that video to the local news and try to get them to put it on the local news. The other would be there as support and to try to run interference to at least slow things down and make things more difficult. I would suggest looking up both laws and rules, or better yet, see if you can get an employee of the CPS who can help you look for laws and rules that can put things to your advantage. Plus that video can become a legal record. If local TV Stations are playing it, it will put a lot of pressure on the Republicans. Get as many people as possible to picket the CPS office, picket the governor's residence, and the state house. If you can get a lot of people, stage a die in at the state house. if this continues to progress, have posters made of removed kids to display at protests. If you get a good opportunity to discuss, or better negotiate, plan a protest/die in (since so many kids hang themselves, the people "dieing" could wear nooses aroung their neck). Shock is a useful tool, and after all that is what they are threatening. The ideas go on and on.
Of course watch the video yourself and see what you think.
And I'm telling you all of this because you have the platform to diseminate information about the video quickly all over the country. There was one thing about the video - The act up folks didn't care what people thought about them, they needed access to the drugs so they could stop dyingl We obviously don't want to go there. We want people to care. Hope this helps. I'm going to pass this to the central office of PFLAG and to MamaBears for broader distribution
Hope this helps, and thanks for all you do!
Annie Johnson
Does this bill have any clause in it for kids currently in treatment?
I suspect this is a very cynical act on Cox's part, performative politics, one that allows him to have his cake and eat it, too, in that he is relying on or expecting the courts to throw it out: the more extreme the bill, the more likely it will fail review.