Senator Murray: “We’ve got to be even louder than Greg Abbott or whoever is taking aim at trans kids. We’ve got to push for legislation like the Equality Act that would send a powerful message of support and fairness for trans and gay Americans. And we’ve got to stand up for a future without this awful hate, harm, and division we’re seeing—and with a lot more compassion for each other.”
***WATCH: ROUNDTABLE WITH TRANS YOUTH, FAMILIES, AND ADVOCATES***
***WATCH: SENATOR MURRAY TAKES TO SENATE FLOOR TO CALL OUT HATEFUL POLICIES, CALL ON HER COLLEAGUES TO PASS EQUALITY ACT ***
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, hosted a roundtable with trans youth and families from Washington state and Texas, as well as the Human Rights Campaign, to discuss how the onslaught of attacks against trans youth and their families are affecting them—and discuss what can be done to protect them and counter these hateful attacks. Senator Murray was joined by Stella and Lisa Keating, a young trans advocate and her mother with GenderCool from Washington state; Amber and Adam Briggle, parents of a trans son from Texas; and Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the Human Rights Campaign.
After the roundtable, Senator Murray took to the Senate floor to call out extreme Republican lawmakers’ attacks targeting trans youth and their families in states across the country—including Texas and Idaho—and call on her colleagues to join her to get the Equality Act across the finish line.
“Trans kids deserve to just be kids. To play sports, to go to school, to see a doctor, to get health care. And parents deserve to be able to make their own parenting decisions—with their medical providers—to do what’s best for their kids’ health. They shouldn’t have to worry about what a right-wing politician thinks is best for their kids. And they definitely shouldn’t live in fear that a state legislature is going to intervene in their parenting decisions and hurt their child,” said Senator Patty Murray. “So we’ve got to push back against these attacks on trans kids every way we can: in the courts, with legislation, through executive action, and by speaking out—and speaking up. Because I can tell you, having just talked to my constituents in Washington state, the hurt and fear the governor of Texas has caused isn’t staying in Texas. What Greg Abbott says about trans kids has an effect many states away—I wish it didn’t. But the truth is all of these measures are not only really scary for trans families across the country but they also embolden more hateful rhetoric, and even violence against trans people. And it’s harming trans kids’ mental health—no matter where they live.”
“We’ve got to be even louder than Greg Abbott or whoever is taking aim at trans kids. We’ve got to push for legislation like the Equality Act that would send a powerful message of support and fairness for trans and gay Americans. And we’ve got to stand up for a future without this awful hate, harm, and division we’re seeing—and with a lot more compassion for each other. It’s just not too much to ask,” continued Senator Murray on the Senate floor.
“There’s a lot of harmful legislation and directives across the country. Listening and reading that my own parents are considered child abusers and that my healthcare providers are seen by some as criminals for simply loving, supporting, and helping me live the best possible life—it’s impossible to describe,” said Stella Keating. “Ultimately, I know that these opinions are wrong and that they are just that: opinions. Opinions cannot stop us from existing. They cannot stop me from living my dream to the fullest and following all of my dreams. And opinions do not change who we are as transgender and non-binary people.”
“What I and my fellow LGBTQ peers need from the Senate is to pass the Equality Act now,” Stella Keating continued. “Twenty one percent of my generation is not going away. We are going to continue to speak up and we are going to continue to lead.”
“It’s been a grueling two and a half months following the impacts of this hateful legislation. What is happening in Texas, Florida, Alabama, Idaho, and South Dakota impacts trans kids in every single state. They don’t just stop at the borders of those states, because it sends a really powerful message that our families and our kids don’t belong, and that there’s something wrong with us. And we know that that’s not true. Stella is evidence that that is not true,” said Lisa Keating. “Using our families as political wedge issues to try and weaponize an agenda is not only cruel but, in our house, we believe it’s un-American.”
“It’s been a long political emergency—from attack to attack to attack,” said Adam Briggle. “And we’ve never felt this threatened before. It’s very scary. I feel like we’re at a tipping point. And I’m so glad that we’re calling national attention to this.”
“There are states across the country that are trying to pass bills that are meant to erase trans kids and break the hearts of loving parents like us. In Idaho, they’re trying to make this a life sentence. So this is not just Texas,” said Amber Briggle. “And when people ask us to move, they’re like: ‘why don’t you move?’ And we’re like: ‘tell us where is safe.’ Nowhere is safe until everywhere is safe. And we really desperately need the Equality Act, and all of our elected officials in Washington D.C. to use every tool in their toolbox to make sure that kids like our son can be safe and protected—and to make sure that kids like Stella can be safe and protected.”
“What parents and trans youth are going through across this country is unprecedented. We went through a time in which little by little there was more and more space for trans people to be themselves—to operate more safely in society. And now we have governors and legislators across this country that are hell bent on rolling back the clock and making it impossible for transgender people, particularly transgender youth, to operate and function in our society,” said Warbelow. “We are now seeing criminalization that includes life sentences. That is something that was unheard of even two years ago. So we have to be fighting on all cylinders in order to tackle this problem. There’s no one magic bullet. The Equality Act is a critical piece of this puzzle, but it alone cannot stop what we are seeing in the states. We need every single tool and every single person fighting on behalf of trans kids, their families, their doctors, and everyone who is trying to ensure their success in life.”
In state capitals across the country, Republican politicians are pushing bills and taking action to target trans youth and families. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the state’s child protective services agency to launch child abuse and neglect investigations against families who provide gender-affirming care for their transgender children. In Idaho, legislators got dangerously close to passing a bill that would criminalize providing age-appropriate, medically necessary gender-affirming care, and in Florida, Governor DeSantis is set to sign a bill prohibiting discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools.
Senator Murray’s floor speech, as prepared for delivery, is below:
“M. President, I come to the floor today to speak out against the recent wave of hateful attacks on transgender youth happening across the country.
“Over the last few months, we have seen extreme Republican lawmakers take unprecedented steps to go after trans children and their families.
“Not only are they spewing hateful rhetoric around gender identity, making something personal—and something a lot of Americans probably don’t think about in their day-to-day—into a cruel political cudgel, but they’re also using their political power and legal authority to target trans people, and trans kids in particular.
“Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott made the decision to actively investigate and target parents of transgender kids and providers making the totally false claim that gender-affirming care is child abuse.
“In Idaho—just across the border from Washington state—lawmakers got dangerously close to passing legislation that would criminalize providers for giving kids the gender-affirming care they need.
“And in Florida, there’s a bill headed to the Governor’s desk which aims to erase gay and trans kids, parents, and teachers from our schools by banning discussion about gender identity or sexual orientation.
“While Democrats have been focused on getting our schools back open and helping students catch up after two really tough years, Republicans are targeting trans and gay students, and taking incredibly important and personal decisions away from parents and families.
“Right now, it feels like far-right lawmakers are in a race to legislate the most extreme, most hateful bills they can think up at the expense of trans kids.
“We all have a responsibility to stand up and make clear—this isn’t right.
“Trans people are our friends, our neighbors, and our family.
“Trans kids deserve to just be kids. To play sports, to go to school, to see a doctor, to get health care.
“They should be able to get the same opportunities as any other kids to learn, grow, play and thrive—free from fear and discrimination.
“And parents deserve to be able to make their own parenting decisions—with their medical providers—to do what’s best for their kids’ health.
“They shouldn’t have to worry about what a right-wing politician thinks is best for their kids.
“And they definitely shouldn’t live in fear that a state legislature is going to intervene in their parenting decisions and hurt their child.
“So we’ve got to push back against these attacks on trans kids every way we can: in the courts, with legislation, through executive action, and by speaking out—and speaking up.
“Because I can tell you, having just talked to my constituents in Washington state, the hurt and fear the governor of Texas has caused isn’t staying in Texas.
“What Greg Abbott says about trans kids has an effect many states away—I wish it didn’t.
“But the truth is all of these measures are not only really scary for trans families across the country but they also embolden more hateful rhetoric, and even violence against trans people.
“And it’s harming trans kids’ mental health—no matter where they live.
“We’ve got to be even louder than Greg Abbott or whoever is taking aim at trans kids.
“We’ve got to push for legislation like the Equality Act that would send a powerful message of support and fairness for trans and gay Americans.
“And we’ve got to stand up for a future without this awful hate, harm, and division we’re seeing—and with a lot more compassion for each other.
“It’s just not too much to ask.
“Thank you M. President, I yield the floor.”
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