This post is part of a collective action to urge people in the U.S. to contact their Congressperson and Senators and let them know that we'll refuse to support them if they discard trans and queer people in their efforts to cozy up to the incoming regime. They'll need our help to get (re-)elected when our crumbling democracy next grants them the opportunity.
LGBTQ+ people in the USA, and trans people in particular, are repeatedly treated as scapegoats when all we want are the rights which are frequently granted without question to our allo/cis/het counterparts. For queer people who are members of other marginalized identities, the intersection of these identities compounds and complicates the marginalization (e.g. Black, trans women are murdered at rates far higher than white, trans women).
Trans people were neither in charge of nor responsible for Kamala Harris's election loss, but that hasn't stopped most of the Democratic party from signaling that they're happy to disregard us and help Republicans take away our rights if there's even a slim chance that it will get them a little more political power.
Julia Serano has written an excellent piece on how to respond to Republicans' anti-trans talking points, if you found yourself persuaded by their hateful rhetoric or just want some ideas on how to discuss this with people who themselves were, please read this.
Democrats can't win future national elections without us, and they must defend our ability to exist and participate in society if they want our votes. If they don't think ignoring harm to us will hurt them in elections, then they have already decided that we aren't part of their coalition.
Contact your representatives even if they are Republicans. They should know that you oppose their party's attacks on queer people.
Action Items:
- Contact your Congressperson and Senators. (ResistBot) is a useful tool for doing this, but you can also look them up through USA.gov.
- Phone calls are best, but if you can't get through, follow up with an email.
- When you call, please be polite to the staffer who answers the phone. They are there to take your message, they aren't the politician who you're trying to persuade.
- If you have the spoons/bandwidth to do so, please also contact your state/local officials.
- When you post about this action, use the hashtag: #LGBTQNotGoingBack
Call Script for Democratic Representatives:
Hello I'm [Your Name] and I'm contacting [Representative's Name] to let [them] know that Democrats can't win future elections without support from LGBTQ+ people. If they and their Democratic colleagues support anti-trans legislation and other policies which strip away queer people's rights to participate in society, then they will have made clear that they don't consider queer people to be worth defending. Queer people and [our/their] allies will no longer lend them our vote.
Call Script for Republican Representatives:
Hello I'm [Your Name] and I'm contacting [Representative's Name] to let [them] know that I oppose the Republican and right-wing efforts to strip rights from LGBTQ+ people. These laws hurt your constituents and don't make anyone safer. I will not support you if you work to pass laws that hurt the Queer people in my community or the nation as a whole.
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