Protestors Speak Out Against Anti-Transgender Bills On Capitol Steps – Daily Herald

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

A rallygoer, draped in a Pride flag, listens to speakers during a rally in support of transgender children at the Utah State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.

Under sporadic flurries of snow, dozens gathered on the steps of the Utah State Capitol on Friday to make a stand against legislation they argue unfairly targets and scrutinizes transgender children.

Aided with a microphone and a megaphone, the afternoon alternated between speeches, personal stories and the occasional rallying chant.

“Some people use language that is so incredibly personal and it comes from a place of frustration and a place of fear, but it also comes from a place of love. They’re ready to share themselves and their stories,” said Derek Williamson, one of the rally’s attendees.

One of the rally’s organizers, Chloe Tinney, was unable to attend in person, but fellow organizer Mina Sadoon read a speech Tinney wrote.

The overwhelming message of the speech was one of gratitude to those standing up or transgender people and anger over anti-trans bills and their supporters.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

Ocean Candler speaks during a rally in support of transgender children at the Utah State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.

“There are some that, despite all evidence to the contrary, feel we need their permission first to exist and that our existence is up for debate. The bills that have been advanced in Utah are nothing short of monstrous,” Sadoon read.

The legislation in questions is House Bill 11, titled “Student eligibility in interscholastic activities,” and is sponsored in the Utah House by Kera Birkeland of Morgan, and in the Senate by Curt Bramble of Provo. If enacted, it would establish a commission to ensure high school student athletes compete in sports based on their birth sex and according to a host of other requirements. The bill would also provide legal immunity for members of the commission who would investigate said students. It passed the House and will be voted on by the full Senate.

Sadoon told the crowd of the House committee hearing that included how students’ ethnic background would be taken into account for “gender consistency.” The message was met with a steady stream of boos.

“Both of these factors are just a modern recreation of the historical and eugenic pseudosciences used to justify sexual and racial bigotry,” Sadoon read.

The other bill mentioned, HB 127, is sponsored by Cedar City Republican Rex Shipp and would prohibit minors from receiving gender-affirming medical procedures. According to the legislation, it “makes it unprofessional conduct to perform a medically unnecessary puberty inhibition procedure or a sex characteristic-altering procedure on a minor.” The bill did not receive a vote in committee and there has been no action on it since Jan. 26.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

People listen to Ocean Candler during a rally in support of transgender children at the Utah State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.

“Unfortunately, it sends a clear message to the trans kids. Because the gender that was designated to you at birth doesn’t match what your internal identity and ideology is, that means there must be something wrong with you because they don’t want you to fit in.,” Sophia Hawes-Tingey told the Daily Herald.

Hawes-Tingey, a U.S. Navy veteran and the first transgender woman to legally marry in Utah, was one of many who wanted to show their support.

Anger over the legislation brought people to stand together on the Capitol steps, some from Salt Lake and others who traveled from around the state.

Williamson came from Ogden to remind legislators of the views of constituents, not just elected officials.

“We’re the people that, from all across this state, represent the vast queer community. We needed to be here together,” he said.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

Jessy Salas listens to the speakers during a rally in support of transgender children at the Utah State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.

As time went on, people came up to the microphone to tell their personal stories. They mentioned being called slurs in passing, of having to fight every year for their rights. One speaker, 17-year-old Ash Meservy, told his story of being an athlete. Running track and field, he said he felt out of place and it led him out of competition.

Many others echoed those same experiences, of transgender people choosing to not participate in school plays or sports due to fears of being misgendered.

Hawes-Tingey, who served on the board of directors for the ACLU of Utah, added that she would not be surprised if HB 11, if passed, would lead to an incident with a transgender student athlete and subsequent lawsuit over the student’s 14th Amendment rights. The 14th Amendment is most commonly cited for the phrase “equal protection under the law” and has featured prominently in landmark legal rulings including Roe v. Wade, Bush v. Gore and Brown v. Board of Education.

This legislation also comes as bills are being pushed nationwide that add scrutiny to the existences of transgender children.

This week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered that parents who help provide gender-affirming care be investigated for abuse. Legislation in Alabama would ban hormone therapy for transgender minors, akin to Utah’s HB 127. Similar bills banning transgender participation in sports have had varying levels of success in South Dakota, Indiana and Kentucky.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

An attendee of the rally in support of transgender children at the Utah State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, holds a sign that reads “Respect Trans Lives or I’m gonna identify as a (F-ing/problem).”

Friday’s rally in Utah mirrors similar efforts nationwide to dispute what some have characterized as misinformation and willful ignorance about bills focusing on transgender youth.

As part of a thread on Twitter, Utahn Lauren Hamilton-Soulé wrote, “Don’t let any of it fool you, inspections and transphobia are not compassion. They know EXACTLY what they’re doing and what they have to say to get away with it and we cannot let them.”

In spite of everything that led to the rally, attendees expressed hope for the future for transgender people in Utah following the status of these bills.

“Their lives matter. They deserve the opportunity to find out who they are in the time that they want to take to do it,” Williamson said.