Scared straight: The legislative war on LGBTQ+ people

This year’s Pride felt different. June, a month that corporate America has for several years doted on as a rainbow festival, returned to its painful, humble beginnings: a protest. In 2023 alone, more than  540 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures, and 45 anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been enacted, with the majority targeting transgender and nonbinary people. Laws passed in certain states have banned gender-affirming care, allowed misgendering, banned drag performances, and censored school curriculums, including books.

Legislative attacks on the LGBTQ+ community are so worrisome that last week Canada issued a travel advisory to warn its LGBTQ+ community about U.S. laws that may affect them. The country’s Global Affairs department did not specify which states, instead advising travelers to “check relevant state and local laws” because “Canadians could face certain barriers and risks when they travel outside Canada.” In a similarly alarming vein, the Human Rights Campaign declared a ‘State of Emergency’ for LGBTQ+ Americans for the first time in its 40-year history following this year’s spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. 

This past June, New York City’s West Village was dripping confetti, flags, and extravagant floats, celebrating the progress the city has made since the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Yet, amongst the crowds of urbanites in brightly colored bikinis and wigs, were signs that read, “Not All Country Boys are Bigots,” “Ban Assault Rifles Not Drag Queens,” or “Y’all Means All.” The dichotomy paints the bigger picture of Pride in America—one that includes the growing struggles of rural LGBTQ+ people. 

While overall support for the LGBTQ+ community has never been stronger, “nearly half (49%) of LGBT youth in rural areas and small towns stated that their community was somewhat or very unaccepting of LGBTQ people compared to just over a quarter (26%) of those in urban and suburban areas,” according to The Trevor Project. 

The urban-rural divide in LGBTQ+ community support hurts LGBTQ+ people. Equal rights cannot afford an “us” versus “them” rhetoric. Society has labeled some states as more “liberal” or “safer” than others, when in reality there are still pockets of "rural" and "red" in states like California. Read more about polarization and red LGBTQ+ lives here and here. 

Rural resistance to LGBTQ+ people and same-sex marriage can be attributed to a cultural divide. Luke Boso in “Rural Resentment and LGBTQ Equality,” posits that “[m]any rural Americans, especially in predominately white communities, feel that they are under attack” because policies that protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination threaten “several core tenets of rural identity: community solidarity, self-reliance, and compliance with religiously informed gender and sexual norms.” Pro-LGBTQ+ legislation symbolizes a changing America and opposing LGBTQ+ rights is one mechanism to protect and assert rural identity.

Representation of LGBTQ+ people in mainstream media and popular culture suggests that LGBTQ+ people mainly live in cities or on the coasts. However, “an estimated three million or more LGBT people call rural America home,” according to The Movement Advancement Project’s 2019 Report. That number will likely grow, with “roughly 10% of youth identifying as LGBT,” and “with rural youth just as likely as urban youth to identify as LGBT.” Yet, rural LGBTQ+ people face additional challenges such as fewer alternatives to service providers when facing discrimination. You can read more about LGBTQ+ discrimination in healthcare here and here. 

Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has become so threatening that families have fled their states out of fear that their children could face prejudice or violence. In a recent VICE News video, parents discuss leaving their schools and jobs behind to keep their transgender children safe from alt-right extremists who want to force their kids to be someone they are not. The Shappley family from Texas discuss leaving for a state with laws in place to prevent parents of trans children from being extradited after they move. Meanwhile, the Trujilo family from Arizona discuss their frustration with their state laws banning transgender kids from playing sports and getting gender-affirming surgery. 

“I get really freaked out,” Daniel Trujilo (15 years old) says, “they want to arrest parents or pediatricians and people that are helping.” 

“We are often reduced to just body parts,” says Daniel. 

“We have all of our family and friends here, and Daniel would lose more than he would gain,” says Lizette Trujilo (Daniel’s mother). 

Yet, there is hope to found as LGBTQ+ representation in government increases. Last week, Fabian Nelson, 38, became Mississippi’s first openly LGBTQ+ legislator. “When he campaigned in South Jackson, he talked about the city’s water crisis and about crime. When he campaigned in his district's rural areas, he talked about broadband access and economic development.” While Nelson’s platform strictly focused on specific issues facing his district, he wants people to understand that Mississippi has someone to fight anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.