Elected prosecutors condemn anti-trans legislation

In June, the nonprofit Fair and Just Prosecution, or FJP, issued a joint statement from elected prosecutors and law enforcement leaders from 27 states, including three district attorneys from Colorado. The statement condemns legislature that criminalizies transgender people and gender-affirming healthcare across the U.S. 

“These blatantly unconstitutional attacks on some of the most vulnerable Americans will deeply harm public safety,” the statement reads. “We call on policymakers to cease this extraordinary overreach and leave healthcare decisions to patients, families and medical providers, and we pledge to use our discretion and not promote the criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare or transgender people.”

One of the signatories to the joint statement was Michael Dougherty, District Attorney for Colorado’s 20th Judicial District. In a joint release with Out Boulder County, Dougherty explained the position.

“Our office signed on to this letter because we strongly oppose legislation seeking to criminalize transgender people and their health care,” Dougherty said. “In Boulder County we are extremely fortunate to have Out Boulder County to educate, advocate and provide support for LGBTQ community members. But these legislative efforts reflect that much work remains to be done, in Colorado and beyond.”

“In 2021, an extraordinary number of bills have been floated by the politicians using our transgender youth as a wedge issue in their attempt to gain more votes,” said Out Boulder County Executive Director Mardi Moore. “These hateful and ignorant pieces of legislation only strengthens Out Boulder County's education and advocacy activities.”

To date, 105 bills discriminating against transgender people have been proposed in 34 states, 10 of which have been passed into law. None of them are from Colorado.

“Among these concerning restrictions are bills that aim to block trans youth from receiving life-saving gender-affirming healthcare,” the joint statement reads. “So far this year, 20 state legislatures have considered a total of 29 proposals that would prevent many trans youth from receiving this essential medical care.”

Arkansas passed legislature in April prohibiting gender-affirming medical treatments for trangender and non-binary youth, including a clause that allows insurance companies to deny coverage for gender-affirming care. Nineteen other states have proposed similar legislation, though many of the bills have died in committee or failed to pass.

Arkansas has also passed two articles of legislation, State Senate bills 450 and 354, prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in intercollegiate, interscholastic and intramural sports. Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee and West Virginia have passed similar legislation in 2021.

“Bills that criminalize safe and crucial medical treatments or the mere public existence of trans people do not promote public safety, community trust or fiscal responsibility. They serve no legitimate purpose,” the FJP statement reads. “As such, we pledge to use our settled discretion and limited resources on enforcement of laws that will not erode the safety and well-being of our community.”

Though many of these bills come from conservative states, the federal government is making efforts to ensure better equality and representation for LGBTQ issues. The Biden administration recently announced a series of measures to ensure better advocacy and equity for transgender people throughout the nation. Those measures include access to gender-affirming care for veterans, an executive order expanding transgender individuals under federal employment and better access to accurate Federal IDs for transgender and gender-nonconforming Americans.

“At Out Boulder County we know that changing hearts and minds is arduous work, but it is this work that will eventually lead us all to a more inclusive and equitable world,” Moore said. “We are grateful for Michael Dougherty and his team at the Boulder County District Attorney's Office who once again have made it clear that transgender adults and youth will not be vilified nor targeted in the criminal justice system.”