Over the last few years, voters in Houston, Texas, and Anchorage, Alaska, each had anti-trans ballot issues put in front of them. In 2015, we lost. Just last week in Alaska, we won.
This naturally raises the question: What did the civil rights community and the trans community do differently in Anchorage than Houston? The answer is simple but difficult to execute: Transgender people must lead the effort and be introduced as our friends and neighbors to hundreds of thousands of voters.
In Houston, voters were asked whether to keep the city’s new civil rights ordinance, which barred discrimination based not just on gender identity or sexual orientation, but also based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, and other grounds. Our campaign focused on the importance of civil rights laws for everyone, knowing that the public was with us on that issue.
Our opponents, however, pushed a singular campaign slogan of “no men in women’s bathrooms,” zeroing in on transgender protections and distorting what the law would do. Our side, not ready to focus the campaign on transgender people, tried to change the subject, and it didn’t work. They defeated us 61 percent to 39 percent, a spread of 22 points and a devastating loss.
Now fast forward to last week, when Anchorage citizens voted on an anti-transgender ballot measure. Our opponents pushed the same core narrative about the threat of transgender people in restrooms. But last Friday, city officials announced that the Fair Anchorage campaign defeated that measure by 52.7 percent to 47.3 percent, a spread of 5.4 points.
What changed?
First, the Anchorage campaign put local transgender people front and center in the campaign, , — some of the most trans-inclusive ads ever used in a political campaign — and . We didn’t shy away from the other side’s focus on “bathroom predator” myths, we confronted them directly.
Trans people are our neighbors and our friends. When the public sees that, we win.
Here’s the core of what we’ve learned since Houston: To stop the horrific attacks on transgender people being launched all across the country, the key is to empower trans leaders and trans voices to tell their stories so that the general public can get to know transgender people. Trans people are our neighbors and our friends. When the public sees that, we win.
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Second, voters know more about transgender people than they did even just a few years ago. This public conversation has been pushed forward by fights in state legislatures and the courts.
When the South Dakota Legislature passed such a bill in 2016, transgender individuals met with the Republican governor, who in part because of what he learned from engaging with actual trans people. When Tennessee was considering a similar bill, a before the legislature about his experience as a transgender person. His testimony turned key votes and the anti-trans bill failed. When North Carolina enacted its infamous anti-trans restroom restriction law, known as HB2, trans people were leading voices in the public discussion of the measure.
Transgender students were the centerpiece of the court case that temporarily shut down HB2, and an inspiring young man named Gavin Grimm put for the whole country. When his high school excluded him from the common boys’ restroom, just because he is transgender, Gavin fought them all the way to the Supreme Court. Time magazine recognized him as one of the of 2017.
Third, the Anchorage campaign figured out how to do this education on a massive scale.
In addition to its online and TV ads and a lot of earned media, the campaign reached out to voters directly. They mailed 147,000 direct mail pieces to Anchorage voters, had over 13,000 individual conversations with voters, made over 66,000 phone calls, and knocked on over 2,000 doors.
The Fair Anchorage campaign mobilized allies from local and national businesses and associations to over 40 faith leaders from across the religious spectrum as well as over 100 bipartisan community leaders, public safety advocates, and educators.
The Anchorage campaign shows how we move people from fear to understanding and acceptance. There’s no shortcut we can take to get there — it requires significant investment in basic education and outreach — but Anchorage proves it’s possible.
That’s important, because there are more fights on the horizon. In November, Massachusetts voters will see the same issue on their ballot, and that . And in Montana, opponents of LGBT equality are trying to put a similar measure on the November ballot as well. We know the attacks in legislatures around the country will continue — but we’ve proven we can stop them.
Inspired by the success in Anchorage, we will continue the larger national conversation about the basic humanity of transgender people while beating back these efforts in Massachusetts, Montana, and wherever they appear next.
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
President Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender YouthPresident Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate today passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender youth whose parents are active-duty military personnel. The American Civil Liberties Union is opposing final passage of the defense bill over the inclusion of this health care ban and calling on President Joe Biden to veto the bill. Section 708 of the NDAA would prohibit insurance coverage for “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria” such as hormone therapy and puberty-suppressant medications, which Speaker Mike Johnson says would “permanently ban transgender medical treatment for minors.” The same treatments would be covered by TRICARE for any medical purpose other than treating gender dysphoria, the clinical diagnosis for the psychological distress experienced by transgender people related to their gender identity. “By passing this bill, the House and Senate are forcing thousands of active-duty service members to choose between their careers in the military and the future of their transgender children,” said Mike Zamore, national director of policy & government affairs at the ACLU. “This unconscionable and unjustifiable attack on those families stands in direct contrast to President Joe Biden’s legacy of defending the civil rights of transgender Americans — including when few in his own party showed the courage to do so. President Biden should cement his legacy by vetoing this bill and sending it back to Congress to pass without Speaker Johnson’s last minute health care ban for servicemembers’ kids.” If signed by President Biden, this health care ban would be the first new anti-LGBTQ provision enacted by Congress and signed into law by the president since the enactment of the military’s since-repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for LGBTQ servicemembers and the since-repealed federal law barring recognition of same-sex marriages known as the Defense of Marriage Act. It is unknown how many transgender youth are currently enrolled in TRICARE or how many of those enrolled are currently receiving coverage for gender-affirming care. In one 2022 analysis, 2,500 minor patients sought care for gender dysphoria through TRICARE Prime insurance at military or civilian treatment facilities in 2017, and 900 received puberty suppressants or gender-affirming hormones. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case brought by the ACLU, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump on behalf of three families and a medical provider challenging a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming hormonal therapies for transgender youth on the grounds the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Montana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's LicensesMontana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's Licenses
HELENA, Mont. – A Montana court has granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state of Montana from enforcing policies that bar transgender people from obtaining accurate sex designations on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses. After a prior restriction on amendments of birth certificates was struck down by the courts, in early 2024 the state of Montana enacted a new rule that categorically bars transgender Montanans from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. Around the same time, the Montana Department of Justice adopted a policy similarly restricting amendment of driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs challenged these policies in state district court, arguing that they violate various constitutional provisions, including the right to equal protection of the law. In a recent Montana Supreme Court decision, two justices concluded that discrimination on the basis of transgender status – as the state is engaging in here – is a form of sex discrimination that violates the Montana Constitution’s equal protection clause. The plaintiffs, two transgender women, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP. Plaintiff Jessica Kalarchik, a veteran who served in the United States Army for 31 years, said: “After finally being able to live my life openly as the woman I know myself to be, I am frustrated that my birth state, Montana, wants me to carry around a birth certificate that incorrectly lists my sex as male. I live my life openly as a woman, I am treated as a woman in my daily life, and there is no reason I should be forced to carry a birth certificate that incorrectly identifies me as male. Fortunately, the court agrees that this ridiculous policy should not be in effect.” “Once again the State of Montana chose to adopt a draconian policy that is clearly intended to marginalize transgender Montanans, only for that discriminatory action to be blocked by the courts,” said Akilah Deernose, executive director for the ACLU of Montana. “Here in Montana we treasure our right to privacy and to live our lives free from governmental intrusion. The State of Montana clearly has not learned any lessons from the past few years, where courts have repeatedly struck down unconstitutional laws targeting transgender Montanans.” “Forcing anyone to carry documents that contradict their identity unjustly violates their rights to privacy, equal treatment, and not being compelled to convey a government message about their sex that they disagree with,” said Malita Picasso, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Such a policy marks transgender people for further mistreatment and discrimination, essentially requiring them to carry papers that out them as transgender any time they need to provide identity documents. Fortunately, the court has refused to allow the state of Montana to subvert the freedom of transgender Montanans to control their own identity as this case goes forward.” In granting the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court held, “[i]f the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate the basis of sex.” The state has the option of appealing the district court’s ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, but the underlying case will proceed in district court. A trial has not yet been scheduled. -
FloridaDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. DixonKeohane v. Dixon
On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The ACLU brought a class action challenging the policy. -
IdahoDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Robinson v. LabradorRobinson v. Labrador
Two incarcerated transgender women have sued the state of Idaho alleging that HB 688, a 2024 law barring state funding for gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, denies them access to the health care their doctors have prescribed for them and is a violation of their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. They represent a class of all incarcerated folks within the state of Idaho who face the loss of hormone therapy due to HB 668.