I’ve asked our Community Organizer to share his experiences on House Bill 304 with the EQNM Community. Below are his thoughts, but first Quick recap: HB304 introduced by Representatives Cook, Montoya, Townsend, Lord, and Black, was an attack on transgender youth in sports. The so-called “Women’s Sports Protection Act'' claimed an inherent supremacy of males in athletics, and prohibited trans youth from playing sports on the team of their identity. While it claimed to be saving spots in school and youth sports for cisgender women and girls, it really was just a way to put blatant transphobia and sexism into legislation. HB304 was tabled (did not pass) in it’s first committee last week. Read what Andrew had to say about it below.
House Bill 304, the anti-trans athlete bill, brought a storm to New Mexico — not only a storm of transphobia and sexism, but a more powerful storm of strong, resilient, and fierce advocates. I cannot adequately explain how it feels as a young, trans masculine and queer person to see communities come together in this way.
I was unsure of how the conversation was going to go and it was a scary feeling going into the house public affairs committee to testify against HB304. I had no idea what I was going to say. I wasn’t ready for the questions and hateful commentary from the elected officials on the committee. On top of that, I was unprepared to practice self care after the fact. My community partners, particularly those with the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Services, the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, the Gender and Sexualities Alliance Network and Bold Futures, made sure that I felt supported and protected. They patiently answered my questions (all 10 million of them), reassured me of my boundaries, and offered up emotional labor afterwards. I have said it before, and I will say it again: I am so grateful for my New Mexico community. Our community is what makes us so powerful.
So, we did it; we killed HB 304. We can take a deep sigh of relief, knowing that we are strong enough to take on anything. We cannot ignore the damage this bill has already done, however.
Transphobic policy treats us — transgender and gender nonconforming youth — like pawns. We are simply a talking point used to push policy that doesn’t benefit anyone. Our livelihood erased, our humanity ignored. It also serves as a painful reminder how our existence is viewed.
Listening to my community partners give their testimony in committee made me feel incredibly empowered. It is beyond difficult to listen to an elected official justify transphobia, and I am amazed by my community’s ability to fight through that with messages of hope, change, and inclusion. A half hour of public comment grounded in supporting our trans youth was exactly what I needed at that time.
To my transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, two spirit, gender nonconforming, and gender fluid friends, family, and community members:
You are not alone in this fight. We see you, we hear you, and we are always going to show up. We are revolutionary in our existence alone.
