just to live. and yet, here we are. seeing the right of our community members diminish. their voices are silenced, they re very identities denied. our nation has made great strides with filling the fundamental promises of freedom and equality for lgbtq plus americans, but lately something has changed. the arc of progress is bending in ways we did not think possible just five years ago. unjust ways. so far this year, more than 520 anti lgbtq bills have been introduced in state legislatures. that is a record. more than 220 of those bills, specifically, targeted transgender and non-binary people. also a record. and an unprecedented 70 anti lgbtq laws have been enacted just this year. in the past, we have put together pride specials celebrating lgbtq+ individuals and their achievements, first in the white house and then on the stage and screen. achievements that deserve to be celebrated. but tonight, as that progress is threatened like never before, we are going to do something d
that queer people are not welcome, which is a dangerous precedent to set. and drag bands seem to fit into the larger attack on transgender rights, no? yeah, these drag bands are rooted in transphobia because a lot of the language that is put into these different bills is targeting trans people, so it is gender-affirming health care for our kids that is under attack, it is mental health care services, it is banning even talking about who you are in your school, and then with these drag bands you can point somebody out on the street who is trans and say, they are in drag, which is not the case and then that is criminalized. it is really unsettling and makes it a really hostile place for queer people in our country right now.
into these different bills is targeting trans people, so it is gender-affirming health care for our kids that is under attack, it is mental health care services, it is banning even talking about who you are in your school, and then with these drag bands you can point somebody out on the street who is trans and say, they are in drag, which is not the case and then that is criminalized. it is really unsettling and makes it a really hostile place for queer people in our country right now. you are no stranger to attacks from the right, you are invited last year to the white house to attend president biden s signing of the respect for marriage act, with a landmark legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriage rights like mine, i am in both a same-sex marriage and interracial marriage. you received death threats for doing so and were hit with false defamatory attacks from conservative news outlets. talk about that experience about being targeted for who you are. it was a reall
gould cummings is on the front lines, defending their first amendment right to that expression. marty gould cummings, thank you for your time. let s start with drag dance, which is sweeping conservative states. talk about the harm being done to performers and the message that this sends to the broader lgbtq plus community. these drug bands are unconstitutional, as we have seen from the federal judges who are striking them down. i think the repercussions for drug artists is that, if they re in a state where they are not able to perform, that directly impacts their income, the local economy, and the venues that are hosting drag and then for these pride celebrations that have been canceled in different areas because of this, it signals that queer people are not welcome, which is a dangerous precedent to set. and drag bands seem to fit into the larger attack on transgender rights, no? yeah, these drag bands are rooted in transphobia because a lot of the language that is put