Protecting Trans Rights

Abstract

Across the country, transgender rights are under attack. Those on the political right have fomented a moral panic around trans rights, launching so many legislative assaults that the current legal moment is bleak for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. However, history is a source of hope. The queer rights movement has previously achieved greater legal successes against even longer odds. In 1960, consensual sodomy was a felony in every state. By 2015, however, same-sex couples had secured a constitutional right to marry. 

Drawing on original archival research, collected from libraries around the country, this Article identifies three overlooked strategies that advocates previously employed to secure queer family rights: relying on experts, focusing efforts at the state and local levels, and appealing to traditional values. These approaches may, at first blush, seem impossible to rely upon in the present day, especially given current hostility to expertise. However, the Article explains how the queer rights movement can adapt every single one. Ultimately, this analysis demonstrates that, although elected officials have made trans issues a prime target, it is possible for the LGBTQ+ rights movement to undermine their attacks and protect trans rights. 

This Article offers both pragmatism and incitement to action. It provides a path forward for queer rights advocates, one that is tactically moderate, but that nevertheless promotes advocates' ideological commitments. As importantly, it offers fortitude for the road ahead. For those caught in the crosshairs of the government's attacks, it can be impossible to imagine a better tomorrow. And yet it is essential to remember that beleaguered communities can prevail in their quest for justice-just as they have before.

Keywords: lgbtq+, transgender, legal history, state and local, moral panic