Which state is the best and worst for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and queer Americans to live and work? More and more, it is a matter of partisan politics. This is why.
Rock climber looks like he’s hanging Yosemite’s transgender pride flag
Rock climbers have expanded the massive transgender pride flag at El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The National Park Service removed it.
As Oklahoman legislators restricted trans rights and pushed them overturning the Supreme Court’s decision in 2015 to legalize gay marriages, Zane Eeves says his identity as a transgender man put a target on his back in his hometown.
One of Oklahoma’s 18,900 trans adults, the hunch is facing death threats, just like his 10-year-old wife and two children.
“All hatred and political things are happening,” the 35-year-old said, driving the Oklahoma lifeblood from where he was born and raised. He has only crossed the state line three times in his life, but in recent weeks he has made the difficult decision to move his family to North Carolina and get closer to his friends and allies.
“I’m just trying to live and continue to marry,” Eeves said.
Oklahoma ranks 44th nationwide on the list released on Monday for the least welcome states for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and queer Americans.
According to the leadership of the Advocacy Group, the question of where LGBTQ+ people feel safe is one of Blue vs. Red.
LGBTQ+ equality has declined completely for the third year in a row, according to the Leadership National LGBTQ+ Business Environment Index. But the sharpest decline came in Republican-led states.
While Progressive Strongs defended support policies and protection, conservative states have openly opposed gay and trans rights and elected leader Slate to sponsor an unprecedented wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, said Leadership CEO and founder Todd Sears.
According to Sears, the so-called “gays are not gay” bills, religious exemptions and other laws prevented the ranking of 19 red states on the OUT leadership index.
The gap between the states that deploy welcome mats today and those that deploy less friendly parts is wider than ever, he said.
LGBTQ+ states are the least and most welcome
Every year, for the past seven years, OUT Leadership releases the state’s LGBTQ+ Business Environment Index to assess the overall climate of a nation for gay and transgender people by state, mapping where they face the most discrimination and difficulties.
The Outleadership Index examines factors such as the impact of state government policies and general attitudes regarding LGBTQ+ communities, support for young people and families, access and safety to health, political and religious attitudes, work environment and employment, and non-discriminatory protection.
The northeast had six of the 10 highest-ranked states, and the southeast had six lowest ranks.
Massachusetts is headed by Democrat Maura Healy and New York, the nation’s first openly lesbian governor to ensure gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ refugee protection, and is tied to number one on this year’s index, with Connecticut and New Jersey nearby.
Arkansas is the least LGBTQ+-friendly, with its last ranking for the third year in a row. South Carolina, Louisiana, South Dakota and Alabama also scored low scores.
The states that benefited the most from the index were Kentucky and Michigan, which had a leadership stemmed from “equal” leaders from Democrats Andy Bessia and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The most sharp declines were in Ohio, Florida and Utah, all led by Republican governors.
What is the safest place to live?
The OUT Leadership Index was created as an LGBTQ+ Inclusion Reference Guide for Business Leaders. But gay and trans people should not use it immediately and use it as a red state house that hit close to home with a rollback of rights from the Trump administration.
Opposition to trans rights is a central plank in Trump’s presidential election, and since taking office he has signed a series of executive orders recognising only the genders of men and women, protecting trans athletes from women’s sports, banning trans people from serving in the military, and limiting federal funds for the care of gender violations of trans people under the age of 19.
Even states considered safer for LGBTQ+ people are navigating these orders around transathletes. Trump threatened to cut federal funds to California if trans girls competed at a state athletics event Saturday.
AB Hernandez, a junior at Yulpa Valley High School in Riverside County, shared first place in High and Triple Jump and second place in Long Jump. She shared the awards podium with cisgender competitors under new rules drafted by state athletics officials days before the event to soften critics.
Republican-led states are pioneers of anti-trans laws, and even those living in liberal cities are causing greater geographical polarization and terror among LGBTQ+ residents.
Jordan McGuire, a 27-year-old gay man from North Dakota, said the years he spent living in the Deep South taught him about the oppressive discrimination that gay and gendered people face on a daily basis.
At the same time, he said socially progressive cities in conservative states like Fargo and Grand Fork are no longer the safe havens they once were.
Now that his fiancé has moved to women, the couple is exploring their move to a safer “sanctuary” state for them.
“Five or ten years ago, it feels like trans people weren’t under the same microscope as they are now, and that definitely affects our movements,” McGuire said. “Yeah, people were biased, but it wasn’t a witch hunt. They weren’t looking for people in the bathroom or in the school. But now things are so polarized.”
The growing anxiety was arrested in a post-election investigation at UCLA’s Williams Institute. This found that almost half of trans people are fleeing from an already unsupported community, with one in four considering uprooting their lives.
The most frequently cited reason to want to move was concerns about LGBTQ+ rights – 76% – sociopolitical climate – 71% – anti-trans rhetoric and climate – 60% – and anti-trans laws and policies – 47%.
LGBTQ+ Americans on the move
Interest in relocating to more accessible states is even higher today than after Trump’s reelection.
So far, Canada’s Rainbow Railroad has received more than 3,000 requests from LGBTQ+ people living in the US, an increase of over 1,000% since last year, according to Communications Director Timothy Chan.
Almost all requested international relocation support. For now, the Rainbow Railroad cannot support Americans with resettlement services due to immigration restrictions, Chan said.
Michael Woodward, executive director of a trans-led organization in Washington, says traction has been heard from a record number of people from Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, as well as many people in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Trans and gender people face historically financial difficulties due to systemic oppression and discrimination, Woodward said, and need help to find jobs and housing.
It was used to get some applications a week until Trump won his second term. In the two weeks following the election, he said, “I received as many requests for assistance as I have received in my lifetime of the project.”
After taking office, Traction began to get 3-5 applications every day. With one employee and a few volunteers, his organization is struggling to keep up with demand, Woodward said.
