Lawmakers in Texas have introduced several proposals aimed at restricting straight and transgender people. A proposed whistleblower law would reward those who report drag performers and transgender people with $5,000. – The debate has a very negative effect on the psychological well-being of trans people, says Levi Karvonen, international communicator, RFSL. Drag queens and transgender people have become political explosives for the conservative phalanx of American Republicans. A Texas Republican lawmaker has filed the bill HB 4378, which would allow state citizens to sue people who perform in, or otherwise arrange, drag shows where minors are in the audience. Levi Karvonen is an international communicator at the National Federation for the Rights of Homosexuals, Bisexuals, Transgenders, Queers and Intersex Persons, RFSL. He has followed the political development in the USA and how it spread to Europe – and Sweden. – If you look at what the voters prioritize, this topic is definitely not at the top. It is rather about individual politicians and debaters who push these issues to score political points, he says. Over 300 bills against LGBTQI – so far this year Critics compare the new bill to the whistleblower law that already exists in Texas regarding abortion and believe that it will create a witch hunt for drag queens, but transgender people are also at risk of suffering in their everyday lives. Transgender people are already a vulnerable group in the United States, and in 2022 at least 32 transgender people were murdered in the country. – Last year over 300 anti-HBTQI bills were presented in the US, but that number has already been surpassed this year. The majority is about trans people, it’s really a big backlash against trans people’s rights, says Levi Korvonen. Destroy and corrupt According to the bill, the individual who during performance demonstrates a gender role that differs from the gender assigned to the person at birth. According to the law, this can include clothes, make-up and behavior. – The bill has been formulated in such a way that not only drag is affected, but also trans people who perform are affected. There is an idea that LGBTQI people would destroy or corrupt children and that they must therefore be protected. In the player above: RFSL on the bill
t4-general
The bill: Report drag queens and get 50,000 kroner
