(this is just in response to jmcentire's question about the specifics of what is happening over here)
re: The controversy over here. I'll try to explain it, since the folk above are asking. I'll try to be as neutral as I possibly can. I'm sure others can take this and run with it /correct me if I missed anything / elaborate on some of the odder aspects (there's some state/federal law confusion that sort of makes this possible that I won't go into.) I apologize if I miss some things here, so please feel free to chime in if I'm omitting something important.
I'm going to be oversimplifying like crazy, but bear with me. Basically, here in the US we have this protection called Title IX. Title IX ties into gender antidiscrimination laws, basically, although it is primarily applied to schools, and not always executed due to certain state laws not honoring it. The basic idea of the laws overall is that people shouldn't be discriminated against by sex/race/gender/ etc. Different states have different laws, but that's the gist of what the current administration is trying to change.
Under the last presidency, Transgender individuals were included under title IX in some provisions, which was a new benefit. But in 2016, the US elected somebody on the opposite side of the political spectrum, and since Transgender issues were a big sticking point for Republican voters here (with some states incurring a strong negative reaction to the 2014 laws), they are trying to reverse some of those provisions, and recently documents leaked that described exactly what their legal strategy was.
One of the ways they are doing this is through trying to redefine gender in the eyes of Title IX. It's basically changing the wording of the law so that there is no way a transgender individual can have legal protection under Title IX, since it's defining sex as biological gender and invalidating any other interpretation of the law. It essentially invalidates existing protections because it's eliminating transgender as a category to be legally considered, and could have a chilling effect on other laws. That's why a lot of LGBTQ activists are upset, and that's why activists talk of being erased - it's like being erased from the law so you don't count as a citizen. Which means that in a state a transgendered individual previously had protection, it could be entirely possible that they could be at risk for losing their job, not being served in restaurants, etc.
That's where the hashtag came from, and then this tweet happened, and that's where we are now.
Sadly, that's the simplified version, American Politics has been bonkers for the last couple of years (every day brings a new controversy). I have trouble keeping up with it myself and I live here.
Post edited October 24, 2018 by cdturner5984
