AGMA condemns the ongoing and systematic attacks against the LGBTQIA+ community across the country. This is not only a personal issue for many, but a crucial one for AGMA and the broader labor movement.
To date this year, lawmakers have introduced a staggering 452 bills that restrict fundamental needs of LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly trans youth. Healthcare is a basic human right. Yet, in state after state, we are seeing legislation criminalizing transgender and non-binary individuals and the healthcare they require.
At the same time, drag shows have become a cultural war issue, subject to legal attacks and physical hate crimes. While many drag performers are not trans and do not identify as LGBTQIA+, drag shows are now a flash point in the broader assault on these communities. And some of the legislation being introduced across the country is so broad and poorly conceived that it would also imperil repertoire that has been performed in theaters and on stages for centuries.
In a growing number of states, we are seeing deliberate and extreme action to consign transgender and non-binary individuals, as well as the broader LGBTQIA+ community, to second-class citizenship. A war on self expression and identity. A tirade that removes books from libraries and high school musicals from stages because they advocate for an inclusive and equitable world, making it even more difficult for often alienated queer and trans youth to see themselves represented in art.
These physical, emotional, and legal strikes against this community must stop now. As history has taught us, these hateful attacks don’t cease easily once they start. The results will certainly have a chilling effect on our world and must be opposed.
USE YOUR VOICE
The ACLU has launched a nationwide tracking system that publicly documents and categorizes anti-LGBTQ bills. You can filter by state. AGMA encourages and implores members and other allies to reach out to their state’s leadership and tell them that everyone deserves the right to live a safe, inclusive, and free life. The ACLU also has a Pledge you can sign here.
In Solidarity,
Ray Menard, AGMA President
Sam Wheeler, National Executive Director