One activist claimed that lawmakers “resorted to fear-mongering” abandoning New Hampshire’s principles of justice and freedom.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed two bills attacking LGBTQ freedom on January 4: one that would allow transgender people to be discriminated against in public places and the other which may forbid gender-affirming practices for transgender children.
By allowing state and educational institutions to discriminate against trans people in athletic competitions, state prisons, or “places of personal privacy,” while HB 619 would forbid transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming procedures, the guarantee of equal protection under the law for transgender people may be weakened.
According to Linds Jakows, co-founder of 603 Justice, the N. H. House’s failure to defend LGBTQ+ rights today marks a disheartening start to 2024 in remembrance of how strongly it has previously embraced and respected LGBTQ+ identities. Trans children and their families should not be discriminated against or segregated in schools, medical facilities, or other settings. Instead, they should make their own medical decisions.
One of the first openly transgender politicians in the state, Democrat Rep. Gerri Cannon, criticized the bills.
“It is inappropriate for New Hampshire. According to Cannon, it’s never appropriate for the trans community. I’m worried about the health of many young transgender people, so I hope our young people don’t take this message too personally.
Twelve Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the ban on gender-affirming treatment, and four Democrats supported the bill that would allow trans people to be discriminated against in prison, sports facilities, or classroom restrooms. A few Democrats either skipped or abstained from voting on the bills.
Erin Reed, a transgender activist and journalist, said on social media that “enough other dems either did not vote, were unavailable, or voted well on the bathroom/sports ban to allow it to pass.”
When asked about her votes, New Hampshire state representative Maria Perez (I), who had previously messaged Reed about anti-trans bills on social media, allegedly blocked Reed on X. Perez voted in favor of HB 619 while abstaining from voting on House Bill 396. On her X report, Perez reportedly had a rainbow flag, but she has since taken it off.
“Democrats will probably run for office in the upcoming months if they are willing to sell out transgender children in their area to gain favor with their Republican friends,” Reed said on social media.
The bills are currently on their way to the president’s office after passing in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Chris Erchull, an attorney with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), stated in a statement that “legislators abandoned New Hampshire’s principles of justice and freedom for fear-mongering and discrimination by passing legislation attacking access to medical care for transgender children and to roll back critical, established non-discrimination privileges to exclude transgender citizens from public apartments and college athletics among other restrictions.” “The Senate must reject these nefarious attempts to split our communities apart and cruelly single out trans people for unfair treatment.”
Governor of New Hampshire Regarding the House’s passage of the anti-trans bills, Christopher Sununu (R) has not yet made a statement. Nevertheless, he joined other Republican governors in opposing the Biden administration’s plans to prevent transgender individuals from taking part in sports clubs that are consistent with their gender identity in May.
As these harmful, unfair bills move through the parliamentary process, Jakows said in a speech, “We will continue to fight to ensure that the rights of LBGTQ+ people are not violated.” As Governor Sununu stated when he signed New Hampshire’s transgender-inclusive nondiscrimination law in 2018, “When the current anti-transgender bills get to his desk, they may immediately reject them, because ‘it is the right thing to do.'”
