Kentucky Passed HB470 Anti Trans Bill in the House
Another one goes and it's real bad, like tans youth can't even change their name via court order bad [Full Bill Here]
In Summary:
Any healthcare provider may have their license terminated if they give gender transition services to a person under the age of 18 and the provider is liable for all costs and damages if convicted
The statute of limitation can last 30 yrs after the person attains the age of 18
Prohibits any public funding for gender affirming care
Prohibits any medical coverage like Medicaid for gender affirming care for a person under 18; any insurer caught doing so will be liable
Schools are required to notify parents of said child under the age 18 if the child is expressing "sex or gender inconsistency with exceptions" ( the exceptions are "if in good faith and with reasonable cause, determines that the student is a victim of physical, sexual, or substance abuse by that parent") (page 31. Line 27. Page 32. Lines 1-2)
Registered certificates like birth certificates cannot be changed for any trans person under 18
Names cannot be changed under court orders for any trans person under 18
Employees at The Department of Juvenile Justice are required to deadname and misgender trans detainees
But the most fuck part is that majority of Kentuckians don't want this type of law passed.
A lot of this "Culture War" and anti trans bills aren't as popular as ya may think it is when it comes to a lot of the constituents.
In A Recent Survey Here:
Of Kentuckians, 71% say they would oppose a proposed state law that would allow the state to overrule parents’ decisions to obtain health care for their transgender teenager, the poll finds
Of Democrats, 83% and 62% of Republicans say that they are opposed to such a law
The trend transcends regional differences, with a majority in urban and rural areas of the state saying they would oppose such a law
The polling comes as the Republican-led legislature has filed a number of bills aimed at transgender Kentuckians
Something I think a lot of people are missing during all of this is just how many people don't know what's happening. I had a conversation with my grandmother yesterday about this type of legislation, and she doesn't get a lot of queer things, but she isn't a fan of the government interfering in people's lives. She understood how dump, pointless, and damaging this legislation would be. I'd be willing to bet if you talked to a random person from Kentucky, from Arkansas, from Tennessee, most of them would probably agree. Most of them would probably have the opinion of "If it's not harming anyone, the government shouldn't get involved in people's personal choices." That's supposed to be what Republicans care about--less government in their lives--and a lot of them do care about it.
We, as allies to the trans community, need to educate people who don't understand what's going on. Talk to your grandmother about pronouns, talk to your uncle about gender affirming care, talk to your brother about the real effects legislation like this will have on people's lives. Education is and always should be the biggest part of allyship, because when people understand they will help. The more people there are helping, the more we can do. Not everyone will listen, not everyone will want to have those conversations, but if you don't try then they won't understand.
For my friends, for my family, for every trans person, I am begging you all to at least try to educate people about what is going on in your state's legislature. You'll be surprised how many people are against it once they understand it. I was.
