Join CRS in Solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ Community
Our LGBTQIA+ siblings are under-attack. Florida’s Don’t Say Gay Bill, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on March 28, outlaws all discussion about the LGBTQIA+ community in Florida classrooms, including references to students’ own families. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and some legislators are targeting families providing trans youth with affirming care. They claim it is child abuse. It encourages health-care workers to report parents or guardians providing affirming care to trans youth to child protective services.
We are fortunate that state legislation in Illinois largely affirm LGBTQIA+ people. Most recently, legislators passed the HIV Decriminalization Bill, which repealed a 2012 law that made transmission of HIV, even when one’s infection status was unknown, a criminal offense. On June 1, 2004, Illinois recognized Marriage Equality.
That said, blue states, including Illinois, cannot be complacent about anti-gay bills and we must join the fight. There are lawmakers who have been targeting LGBTQIA+ people for years with attacks on civil liberties. These attacks have taken a toll on the mental and physical health of LGBTQIA+ people and are dehumanizing. According to a survey done by the Trevor Project in 2021, 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth.
Demonstrations have been staged nationally by young people, including in Florida and Texas, in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Various universities and schools staged walkouts in protest of the regressive laws that have seen a resurgence in the last few years.
Read our statement on the effort to secure the release of Brittney Griner.
It is going to take all of us to rebuke and dismantle hate in this nation, within our state and beyond. There are no states free from LGBTQIA+ oppression, including Illinois.
Join CRS in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ siblings.
Write a Letter to the Editor.
Florida - Miami Herald
Texas - Dallas Morning News
Share this article and our LGBTQIA+ affirming posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Write to CRS at info@communityrenewalsociety.org and share how your community or congregation is open and affirming, celebrating LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults.
CRS has gathered a variety of resources in support of the LGBTQIA+ community and those who are impacted by anti-gay legislation. We encourage you to view and share them widely.
In Solidarity,
Rev. Jason Carson Wilson, M. Div
Bayard Rustin Fellow
Community Renewal Society
And the CRS Organizing and Policy Team