(LGBT) What the Anti-LGBTQ+ Movement's History Can Teach Us Right Now
For many, the recent attack on LGBTQ+ kids has come as a shock. But for parents, experts, and LGBTQ+ people on the ground, it’s been a long time coming. Smashing records, conservative lawmakers have introduced more than 540 anti-LGBTQ bills this year alone. Many have been passed into law.
In 2021, the first major bill attacking trans kids was passed in Arkansas, making gender-affirming care for minors a felony, and 18 additional states have since enacted a low or policy banning gender-affirming medical care for trans minors; eight more states are considering such policies. A little over a year after passing a Don’t Say Gay or Trans law, Florida recently passed another law outlawing drag and forcing trans people to use public bathrooms associated with their assigned sex. Twenty-one states have passed anti-trans sports laws. These bills fly in the face of scientific evidence that supporting LGBTQ+ kids is what’s best for their health and well-being.
For families only recently delivered into the madness of these bills, how did this happen? For a historical perspective, Fatherly spoke to Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic and an expert on the history of legislation impacting the LGBTQ+ community. Here, she explains how we’ve gotten to this point and where she expects we will go next.
This anti-LGBTQ movement in U.S. history, where does it begin from a legal standpoint?
It’s hard to pinpoint. When homophobia is just so commonly understood and shared, it’s not like there’s a concerted anti-LGBTQ movement. Society is the anti-LGBTQ movement.
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