"Intersectional Traffic Jams"

Action Alert

Tuesday the legislature in the state of Louisiana overrode the governor’s veto to pass a bill that restricts minors from accessing medical interventions aimed at changing children’s and adolescents’ sexual characteristics. The bill will stop surgical procedures, cross-sex hormones, and GNRH agonists (puberty blockers).

CNN ran a story covering this. What they completely left out was that a number of Democrats joined the Republicans in voting to pass the bill. If anyone has seen a mainstream media outlet article that has addressed this important detail, please share in the comments.

CNN actually made the effort to point out this: “But not all Republicans have supported HB 648. For the third time Tuesday, GOP state Sen. Fred Mills cast his vote in opposition to the bill—the only Republican in the state Senate to do so.”

Because the narrative (quickly becoming a mantra) is that Republicans are taking away medical care from children and Democrats are trying to save it.

Lisa Selin Davis wrote about a similar situation in a recent Substack article titled “Youth Gender Medicine Is Politically Nonbinary.” She wrote, “Last month, Shawn Thierry, a Black woman and Democratic state representative for Houston’s 146th House district, voted in favor of Senate Bill 14. The bill prohibits procedures ‘to transition a child’s biological sex’- in other words, a ban on what’s known as ‘gender- affirming care’ for minors. She did so, she said in a statement, for the ‘safety and well-being of all young people’ after hearing from constituents, listening to stakeholders, and reviewing the scientific data.”

Continued Davis, “Thierry was primaried—her seat challenged within her party—and formally censured by Democrats, who have made embracing these interventions central to their platform.”

In another situation of people not voting how they’re “supposed” to vote, a Muslim-majority city council in Michigan voted to ban the display of Pride flags on city property, which left local liberals feeling “betrayed.” Writer and political commentator Wesley Yang called it an “intersectional traffic jam” and predicted that there will be many more of these going forward.

How should we think about these “intersectional traffic jams,” as Yang calls them, and, if he is correct and more of them occur, how will the media handle them?

What we are seeing is that people on the left, within the Democratic party, and within the LGBT community who do not agree with medical interventions aimed at children and adolescents are starting to find the courage to state their beliefs out loud and in the chambers of state legislatures.

In the states that are passing bans, where there is Democratic support for the bans, that support is coming primarily from African Americans. And what these Democratic legislators are saying is that they are hearing from their constituents and they have viewed the scientific evidence, and they do not think that medical transition is safe and appropriate for minors.

What we are also seeing in the court hearings regarding the bans, is that most of the court challenges are tacitly agreeing that surgical interventions should not be happening to children and adolescents. Maybe, just maybe, that will be the area that is quietly rolled back elsewhere.

Those of us who are on the left, who vote Democrat, and are within the LGBT community might need to start rethinking our own intersectional car pooling buddies. That could start by taking part in our Action Alert for this week.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Call the Democratic Representatives in Louisiana who supported the bill:

1. Roy Daryl Adams- District 62- #225-634-7470

2. Chad Brown- District 60- #225-687-2410

3. Mack Cormier- District 105- #504-356-3013

4. Pat Moore- District 17- #318-362-3014

When you call:

• Ask to speak to the aide who handles thanking the representative for a vote

  • this was House Bill 648

• Identify yourself for their database

  • they count phone calls to gauge support

• If they ask if you would like a response, they might send you a brief letter

• Be brief and respectful

  • if you are a Democrat tell them, and briefly say why you support this bill

As always: send your submissions, story ideas, questions you want us to try to answer to lgbtcouragecoalition@gmail.com