annikakeefe - Present LGBTQ+ issues

The Iowa House of Representatives passed a bill in February 2022 that changed the way transgender people play sports. The new bill makes the gender you were assigned at birth be the gendered team you are on. So, instead of playing on the gendered team that you identify with, you have to get switched if your preferred gender doesn’t match with the gender you were assigned at birth. The bill was passed with 55 votes in favor and 39 against. Some say the bill should become law because people who are assigned at birth as males have more testosterone than females. Gavy Smith, who is transgender, was upset with the bill and said how it was excluding her from her friends (KCRG Staff). I believe this bill is discriminatory and should not be put in place.

Read more about the Iowa Law: Trans Athlete affected by Iowa Bill

Students in Florida had school walkouts due to the new bill nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that was passed by legislation. The bill was made to prohibit talk of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary schools. Some support this bill because they argue that LGBTQ+ issues are inappropriate for young age groups. But others argue that this bill was not to help children but instead was made to hurt queer people. Also, many say queer people’s mental health would decline and children might think that queerness is forbidden and bad due to the topic not being talked about (Lavietes).

LGBTQ+ members are facing crime and violence due to who they are attracted to or what they identify as. In 2018, 71 countries illegalized differentiating and diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. Transgender people are being highly targeted and, in 2018, at least 22 transgender people had been murdered in the United States. Transgender women of color were most likely to be targeted due to their gender identity. Brazil had one of the world’s highest rates of targeted LGBTQ+ violence in 2018. In 2017, 445 cases were reported of LGBTQ+ members being murdered. Some were brutally beaten and tortured before being killed (Yakupitiyage).