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Blazen Haven, left, and Vanessa Carr read to children, including Ryan Banks, 7, right, during Drag Queen Story Time at the Alvar Library in New Orleans on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
A recent court case has opened up a legal strategy for parents who object to pro-transgender language in elementary school curricula. In November, the 11th Circuit Court of appeals ruled in
Otto v The City of Boca Raton that local governments could not ban the use of conversion therapy to divert people from a homosexual lifestyle. That ruling, which used a broader interpretation of the First Amendment beyond the protection of a person’s ability to practice their faith, paves the way for other lawsuits to use a similar strategy.
Protesters marched in New York City in June to decry Trump administration policies targeting transgender people.Demetrius Freeman/NYT
Last month, Joe Biden did something no other president-elect had done in a victory speech â he specifically thanked the transgender community as part of what he called âthe broadest and most diverseâ coalition in history. It wasnât the first time Biden mentioned the trans community, which has suffered its deadliest year ever. As the Democratic nominee, Biden called anti-trans violence âan epidemic that needs national leadership.â
When he becomes president next month, Biden must be that leader.
In the United States and Puerto Rico, at least 41 trans and gender nonconforming people have been murdered this year, most of them Black and Latinx trans women. Thatâs a record, and there are still several weeks left in 2020. And I say âat least,â instead of a definitive number because trans people are often misgend