For a party that claims to give a damn about individual freedom, New Hampshire Republicans sure do like taking people's rights away. Especially when the people in question are members of marginalized groups that can be vilified for political gain.
Recently, NH State Representative Mike Belcher (R-Wakefield) defended a call for the "eradication of transgenderism" that was originally made by a Michael Knowles, speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Belcher has since become very angry at people for recognizing the genocidal intent behind the position he has endorsed, as if the term "eradication of transgenderism" can be couched in a way that does not suggest an escalation of violent attacks against transgender people.
I mean, "transgenderism" isn't really a thing, even. I certainly don't know anyone who would describe themselves as a "transgenderist."
But conservative Christians so often have a worldview that is limited to understanding things only within the context of their own religion. Many view "transgenderism" through a faith-based framework that holds it to be some kind of demonically-inspired religion in opposition to their own (see also, "wokeism"), and which must be engaged via "spiritual warfare."
Or other warfare, if necessary. We live in an age where calls for civil war from people on the far right are commonplace. Belcher himself seems to be calling for an "anti-Communist counter-revolution" in his own twitter bio.
One must understand that transgender people would be among the first targeted victims of such violent impulses. Germany in the 1930s is the obvious historical analogy here.
No speaker who called for the "eradication of Judaism" would be understood as calling for anything other than the violent persecution of Jewish people. Ditto with "eradication of Catholicism." These things are very bad and only bad people support them.
Calling for the "eradication transgenderism" is in line with these things, and what Republicans are pushing for is clear: all transgender people must be forced back into a closet, and those that won't shall face persecution.
To that end, three anti-trans bills are coming before the New Hampshire legislature on Tuesday, March 8.
HB 417, coming before the House Children and Family Law Committee, would designate gender-affirming care for trans minors as "child abuse" under state law. Parents would be punished for supporting their trans kids.
HB 619, coming before the Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee, also outlaws gender-affirming care for minors, while prohibiting discussion of gender identity in public schools and re-legalizing "conversion therapy", which New Hampshire banned in 2020 in part because of its contribution toward high suicide rates among LGBTQ+ teens.
SB 272, coming before the Senate Education Committee, is another attempt to pass the "Parents Bill of Rights," which, among other things requires teachers to keep tabs on the gender expression of their students and report any potential cases of acting queer to potentially intolerant parents.
603 Forward has put together a nice form through which you can register to oppose all three of these awful bills as they go through the committee process. Get it filled out before the end of the day on Tuesday, March 7, to make sure your voice is heard.