From the LGBTQIA+ Commission of the American Party of Labor.

Over the course of the last few years the state of Texas has been experiencing a state crisis. This crisis has been intensified in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the pandemic which Texas was fully ill-prepared to handle. Out of this intensifying crisis, the reactionary bourgeois class within the state of Texas has been looking for ways to secure its dominance and continue its existence. One of the most repressive ways these reactionaries have gone about trying to garner support from the working and oppressed peoples in this time of crisis has been to ignite fervor over old, unfounded prejudice and hatred, especially against the transgender and gender-nonconforming community. 

This purge against these communities has once again come to the forefront in Texas. On Feb. 22, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, released a statement which instructed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to prosecute gender-affirming healthcare of transgender youth as child abuse. Furthermore, medical experts and schoolteachers are required to report any “signs” that transgender children are receiving necessary treatment. This decree not only attacks healthcare, but also punishes families and teachers harboring transgender and gender nonconforming children and students. The statement released by Governor Abbott explicitly denies a scientific understanding of gender and its fluid nature, and by extent tries to will the existence of transgender and gender-nonconforming youth away. 

In a previous statement issued by this commission, the American Party of Labor presented the scientific understanding of gender, where it is asserted that “gender identity is understood as one’s internal alignment or relationship with gender as a cultural concept.” This definition coincides with other scientific data presented by the American Psychological Association (APA) that states “transgender persons have been documented in many indigenous, Western, and Eastern cultures and societies from antiquity until the present day.” By trying to assert his own ungrounded understanding of gender into Texas law, Governor Abbott fully ignores all scientific data concerning the validity of the transgender and gender-nonconforming community, especially the youth in this community being targeted specifically by this statement. 

“This is evidence of a longstanding tradition of religious values overthrowing proven science in the name of ‘what is right’; traditional values that value dead kids over trans kids. Additionally, this proves the lack of the separation of church and state in Texas. This sets a dangerous precedent for further banning of medical necessities because of biased viewpoints on the health of others, of which they do not understand.”

–Charlie G., Transgender College Student from Texas

Recently, there has been a fight against the tide of transphobia in Texas. The order was blocked by District Judge Amy Clark Meachum, thus halting the attack on transgender youth. However, we can’t rest easy against this continued attack on the queer people of Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton deemed the Austin Independent School District’s pride week celebration as unlawful due to being considered “sex education” without “parental consent.” Despite this, the march continued. We must continue to fight against transphobia and any other kind of attack against LGBTQ+ people. THIS ORDER WILL NOT STAND!

TRANS LIVES MATTER!

Keep up the pressure:

Call: 512-463-1782 to call the governor’s office to let them know what you think.
Mail: Office of the Governor, PO Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711-2428

Call: 800-252-8011 to call Ken Paxton’s office to let them know what you think.

Mail: Office of the Attorney General, PO Box 12548, Austin, TX 78711-2548

Send warm thanks over to Austin ISD for fighting against bigotry.

Categories: U.S. News