Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Trans Away
Urban Living
Posted By Babs De Lay on November 6, 2024, 4:00 AM
Well, this is something I never expected—clients and potential customers are calling me to sell their homes. That's not unusual, but the why is unusual and disturbing.
They are calling me because they are leaving Utah due to the anti-trans laws our phobic Legislature has passed and they simply don't feel like they and/or their children will be treated fairly or receive future health care here that addresses their needs.
There's a "Final Pre-Election 2024 Anti-Trans Risk Assessment Map" (look it up), which came out this year and was updated before we all voted earlier this week. It shows which states have a "Do Not Travel" warning (Texas first, with Florida a close second) and which states may be safer.
If you go to the map (at aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2024) you can click on each state and it will show you the legislative bills that have passed or were defeated there. The map will be updated as bills are written for future legislation in 2025 around the country.
You may not have heard or seen any anti-trans ads here in Utah—because national politicians don't spend much money on ads in a solidly "Red" state—but across the U.S. anti-trans ads were a major part of many of this year's campaigns.
If you select Utah on the website, you'll see there are 10 bills the ACLU followed that passed into law or were defeated, including public accommodation bans, school facilities bans, etc. It's a real fear of parents around the country and in Utah that their trans kids might be taken from them or that our legislators will meet this January and pass laws to force trans kids and people into medical detransitions, ban the use of anything but dead names or disallow gender to be changed in legal documents. Cities and towns can pass similar kinds of laws, like Odessa, Texas, which became the first city in the nation to pass a $10,000 bounty on transgender people inside bathrooms.
The rise of anti-trans bills around this country is astounding and, sadly, the fearmongers will submit more laws next year to restrict gender-affirming health care for trans and gender-expansive people, with most bills targeting children under 18.
Dr. Diana Finkel at Rutgers University Medical School told Reuters in Aug. 2023 that "If you, as the parent of a 16-year-old, want your child to have breast augmentation because she wants a larger bosom and she is a cisgender girl, she can do it," but observed that the law would ban a trans girl from having the same surgery.
We don't yet know the final outcome of this week's election, but it's certain that the creation of anti-trans laws and their enforcement will continue despite what so many medical professionals and their research have found ... that touting the mental and physical health benefits of gender-affirming care is good for children and adults seeking to transition.
About The Author
Babs De Lay
A full-time broker/owner of Urban Utah Homes and Estates, Babs De Lay serves on the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission. A writer and golfer, you'll find them working as a staff guardian at the Temple at Burning Man each year.
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