Today, March 31, is the 10th annual Transgender Day of Visibility, but Idaho's governor Brad Little chose to mark it by demonizing transgender people with the signing of two bills into law that take away their rights.
CNN reports: “One measure bans transgender girls from playing on girls' and women's sports teams, while the other prohibits transgender people from changing their gender on Idaho birth certificates. Little's office did not comment on the laws. House Bill 500, also known as the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, says ‘athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex.' The measure says that a ‘dispute' about an athlete's gender can only be resolved by examining ‘the student's reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously 19 produced testosterone levels.' Little also signed into law Monday House Bill 509, which prohibits transgender people from obtaining a new birth certificate with their gender identity on it.”
Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David condemned Little's actions: “We are living in an unprecedented global health crisis, with confirmed cases of COVID-19 increasing on a daily basis in Idaho, across the United States and around the world, but Governor Brad Little and the Idaho legislature have decided to prioritize the demonization of transgender people. This is unacceptable, and a gross misuse of taxpayer funds and trust. Idaho is leading the way in anti-transgender discrimination, and at a time when life is hard enough for everyone, Idaho's elected leaders will be remembered for working to make their transgender residents' lives even harder. Shame on Governor Little and the legislators who championed these heinous pieces of legislation.”
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