Hating transgender people; it's what Jesus would do, yeah?

Because bullying is always permissible when it's done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

Finally, trans panic has made its way to the Supreme Court, where the Conservative majority came down firmly on the side of banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Never mind that the medical, psychological, and pediatric care communities are overwhelmingly in favor of gender-affirming care for minors. Since when have the Supremes ever listened to science? Why should they when they’re first and foremost tied to what passes for Conservative orthodoxy- make life as miserable as possible for the voiceless and underrepresented.

Idaho, where freedumb and liberty go to die, has done its level best to outlaw the LGBTQ community. Yes, the good, God-fearing White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexual Patriots of the Gem State have decided they don’t want doctors turning their girls into boys and their boys into girls. No, sir…that’s what Oregon and Washington are for.

Of course, if the good people of Idaho couldn’t oppress the few trans minors within their borders, how would they feel superior to those other, “lesser” humans?

The US Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Idaho can go ahead and enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. It’s the first time the Court has addressed the many, many bans states have passed to bar treatment that is recommended by the vast majority of American medical, psychological, and pediatric associations, although why would that matter to the six rightwing ideologues on the Court majority? They don’t worry about what medical experts today say; they’re far more interested in the thoughts of 17th-century jurists who presided over witch trials.

The ruling only addresses the question of whether the ban could go into place while the case is litigated, not the merits of the case, so the witch-finders’ opinions didn’t come into play this time. The order exempted the two trans Idaho teens who sued Idaho (Washington Post guest link), but all other trans youth in Idaho will now be barred from gender-affirming care including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgical procedures, although in reality most trans folks don’t seek surgery until after the age of 18 anyway.

So, is the Idaho ban on gender-affirming care for minors an attempt to fix a “problem” that doesn’t exist except in very small numbers? Yes, it is. With the transgender community comprising less than 1% of the total population nationwide and probably even less in Idaho, the number of transgender teens in Idaho must be infinitesimal.

Is this just another effort by Republicans to inflict gratuitous cruelty on a segment of the population that has no voice or representation? Well, duh…. When have Republicans ever passed on an opportunity to be gratuitously cruel to people or groups they hate?

Having solved all the other pressing problems facing the state, Idaho Republicans have turned their attention to the <1% of the population who are transgender teens.

Stay classy, RepubliKKKans. Or not.

Idaho’s trans healthcare ban was blocked by a federal judge in December, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling. But then Idaho appealed to the Supremes, asking that the ban be allowed to go forward statewide except for the two plaintiffs in the case, since it’s not a class action. Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador argued in a court filing that the plaintiffs wouldn’t be harmed even if all the other trans teens in Idaho were, so why not let the state do what it wants?

As the Post explains, that was good enough for the Supremes:

“The plaintiffs face no harm from the partial stay the State requests,” wrote Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. “Even with it, the district court’s preliminary injunction will operate to prevent state authorities from taking any action to interfere with their ability to access the particular drug treatments they seek.”

Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett wrote a separate opinion allowing the law to go forward while it’s argued in court.

Justice Kavanaugh took a break from doing keg stands long enough to sign the work done for him by his law clerks. Justice Coney Barrett’s contribution was the entire book of Ezekiel from the Old Testament chanted in Amharic by her cult’s choir.

Why do laws like this continue to be a problem? There’s the already-stated truth that the transgender community has no representation and even less of a voice. This ruling may make the trans community more vulnerable to bullying of all kinds than perhaps at any time in this country’s history.

There’s also the problem, as

Erin Reed

wrote last year, of “Christians” like Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk calling for anti-transgender violence “like in the ‘50s and ‘60s.”

I could belabor the clear hypocrisy and contradiction of a self-professed “Christian” calling for violence against a minority group he despises. That would be too easy and obvious, and that story practically writes itself. Charlie Kirk is a Christian in the same way I’m an NBA point guard, but there’s no doubt that he’s a professional hater and hypocrite.

In recent months, conservative leaders have increasingly made explicit threats and calls for violence against transgender people and their allies. Last year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene advocated "beating" transgender people "into the ground" for serving as summer camp counselors. Mark Burns, a Republican candidate for office in South Carolina, called for the "execution of LGBTQ+ allies as treasonous." Tucker Carlson excused people who made bomb threats to children's hospitals by saying the hospitals were "the bad guys." He then put up pictures and names of all the hospital board of directors. Chaya Raichik, creator of the "Libs of TikTok" account, has instigated many incidents of violence. Now Charlie Kirk, CEO of the influential right-wing organization Turning Point USA, has said that transgender people should be "dealt with the way we did in the 1950s and 60s," while anti-trans swimmer Riley Gaines nodded in agreement.

Charlie Kirk is the CEO of a very influential conservative organization known as Turning Point USA. The Organization raises tens of millions of dollars every year and is a major recruitment source for candidates for office and political commentators. Candice Owens, who herself recently advocated for violence against transgender people, was a communications director for the organization.

Ah, yes, dealing with transgender people “the way we did in the 1950s and 60s.” Charlie Kirk once again proves that the line separating “class” from “ass” is razor-thin. Precisely as Jesus would do, eh?

Of course, violence against transgender people would prove nothing and would solve no problems. That’s because the transgender community is not a “problem” to be solved. They’re people who want nothing more than to be left alone to live their lives in the most genuine and authentic way possible.

That shouldn’t be too much to ask, especially for followers of Jesus Christ like Charlie Kirk, who’s committed to the Gospel in the same way I’m a recovering porn star.

Frankly, I don’t get it. What is so threatening about the existence of transgender people, especially to so-called “Christians,” who, according to the Gospel, should be the ones leading the charge to protect them? Jesus Christ taught love, tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion, among other positive values, but “Christians” like Charlie Kirk are marinating in hatred, transphobia, intolerance, and rejection.

These cretins know nothing of the faith tradition they claim to follow. I’m an atheist, and I’d wager that I follow the Gospel more closely than they do.

The 1950s and 1960s were not kind to transgender people. The standard treatments for trans people was lobotomy, shock treatment, or involuntary institutionalization. Queer people were routinely murdered and their murderers got away with it. Official policies of the 1950s included promoting “vigilant detecting” of queer people with police commissioners describing them as “a cancer in the community.” It is impossible to interpret this as anything less than a call for violence against the transgender community. The fact that anti-trans swimmer Riley Gaines nods and smiles along shows that those who oppose transgender rights, ranging from sports to public accommodations, do so with an undercurrent of glee in the thought of violence against transgender people. Charlie Kirk brought that undercurrent to the surface and made it clear for all to see it.

These calls for violence have not gone unanswered. Threats against the transgender community and our allies have materialized in a number of ways. Portions of Boston Children’s Hospital were shut down multiple times over bomb threats and threats to transgender care providers. Bomb threats shut down Kiel, Wisconsin for weeks due to an investigation into students bullying trans people. Patriot Front members were arrested and pulled out of the back of a U-Haul for planning violence at a Pride festival in Idaho. Two transgender victims were killed in Club Q. The incidents are too many to list off.

None of this would exist in a world in which true Christianity was practiced. If Jesus did exist and were to return, he’d never stop puking over what some of his professed followers continue doing in His name.

The thought of violence against transgender people, or any other vulnerable minority community, should provoke revulsion, not “an undercurrent of glee.” That’s not Christianity; it’s a sickness caused by hatred and self-superiority.

I can’t help but wonder what these good, God-fearing White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexual Patriots are afraid of. Do they think being transgender is contagious, that it will get into the water supply and infect them? Are they afraid the Transgender Mafia will catch them and somehow make them trans? Will trans cooks put trans seasoning on their hamburgers at their favorite restaurant and turn them trans that way?

Or are they terrified that trans men will attack their wives and daughters in public restrooms? Never mind that there’s no data showing that adverse incidents have occurred as a result of allowing trans men into women’s restrooms.

Whatever the case, Idaho’s going to make sure that good, God-fearing White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexual Patriots are free from the threat posed by minor transgender children. And the Supreme Court’s OK with that.

WHAT threat, you might reasonably ask? The one that exists only between the ears of good, God-fearing White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexual Patriots.

Bullying is ALWAYS permissible when good, God-fearing White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexual Patriots do it in the name of Jesus Christ and AmeriKKKa, because it’s precisely what the Prince of Peace would do.

Sometimes, I’m ashamed to be an American.

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