Three bills that have been referred to legislative committees could infringe on the rights of Mississippians who are gender non-conforming. SB 2076 would create a state statute version of Title IX which is intended to prevent discrimination, but it would strictly define gender as someone born male or female. Two other bills, HB 456 and HB 576 aim to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth or label it as child abuse. Jensen Matar, Executive Director of the Trans Program, says trans youth are at an increased risk for suicide, and these bills could make it harder to live as they are.
“It’s sending this message that trans people, especially trans youth, are not valuable, not believed, not who they say they are, not to be respected, not to be treated equally, not to be protected, it’s just a really devastating message and it truly does impact lives.
Governor Tate Reeves has indicated he would like to see legislation passed that would limit a school’s ability to address a trans student by their preferred pronouns, but no such bill has been filed.
The two bills that target access to care refer primarily to invasive operations that are sometimes performed on trans adults, but Matar says it’s extremely uncommon for trans minors to seek surgery as part of their transition. But he says the language in these bills could also criminalize services such as gender-affirming counseling, hormone therapies, or other healthcare.
“You’re sticking people between a rock and a hard place who just love their child and want their child to be healthy and happy, and know that if they would simply do something like use that child’s chosen name, that the child would be healthy and happy. But instead, if something like this passes here, it’s like it becomes a secret.”
A number of bills have also been filed that would expand civil rights protections based on gender identity, sexual orientation and disability status.
