60 bills targeting trans kids playing sports were introduced in state houses across the country.
Many of the bills have a common thread: the religious-right powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom’s fingerprints are all over them. A thread:
rightwingwatch.org/report/unsport…
Many of the bills have a common thread: the religious-right powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom’s fingerprints are all over them. A thread:
rightwingwatch.org/report/unsport…
As RWW’s @petemont describes ADF, the group has “a budget of more than $50 million and a ‘legal army’ of allied attorneys who give ADF an expanding footprint within the U.S. justice system." ADF has vehemently fought against LGBTQ rights for decades. rightwingwatch.org/post/pence-pra…
ADF helped Idaho state Rep. Barbara Ehardt draft a bill preventing trans girls and women from competing on women’s and girls’ sports teams. Identical language from that legislation was found in bills proposed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Kansas.
ADF isn’t the only group helping draft legislation & messaging.
In February, a coalition of right-wing and religious-right organizations was launched in opposition to the Equality Act, claiming to be dedicated to "protecting children."
In February, a coalition of right-wing and religious-right organizations was launched in opposition to the Equality Act, claiming to be dedicated to "protecting children."
Calling itself "Promise to America’s Children," the coalition is a who's who of right-wing & religious-right organizations: ADF, Heritage, Family Policy Alliance, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family, Family Watch International, etc.
Center-stage in the formation of the “Promise to America’s Children” coalition? Attacks on trans kids, particularly those who want to play sports.
The coalition also offers “draft legislation” to interested lawmakers.
The coalition also offers “draft legislation” to interested lawmakers.
More than 100 anti-trans bills were introduced in state houses across the country so far this year. But they don’t just focus on girls' & women’s sports; they also focus on prohibiting gender-affirming medical care for trans youth. 29 bills to that effect, according to the ACLU.
The focus on trans girls and women in sports is simply a new avenue for these right-wing groups to exclude trans people from daily life, say LGBTQ and civil rights groups.
“It’s the next iteration in the attacks by social conservatives on trans people. For about a decade now, Republicans, specifically social conservatives, have been looking for a way to weaponize transphobia for elections,” @cmclymer told Right Wing Watch.
Read @k2doe and @ZidanSports' investigation into the legislative war against transgender Americans here: rightwingwatch.org/report/unsport…
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