Leaked Emails Show Coordinated Attack on Trans Rights

What’s the story?

• Mother Jones, an investigative journalism news organization, uncovered material showing a coordinated political attack on the trans movement in America which has grown substantially in the last few years. 
• The news site obtained leaked emails between politicians, organizations, and a network of activists on the frontlines of the anti-trans fight dating back to 2019. The messages portray the degree to which the recent attack on trans rights has been conspired and organized on a national scale.

The leaked emails

• Mother Jones discovered emails from Rep. Fred Deutsch (R-S.D.) in Aug. 2019 to anti-trans activists, doctors, and lawyers with a bill he planned to introduce. The bill, known as the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, proposed making it a felony for doctors to give trans children under 16 gender-affirming medical care. Deutsch wrote:

“I have no doubts this will be an uphill battle when we get to session. As always, please do not share this with the media. The longer we can fly under radar the better.”

• Other emails showed Deutsch’s network pushing him to make the bill even more restrictive.
• The conversations demonstrated an especially close collaboration between Republican lawmakers, the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) — which has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people in Europe, banning trans kids from school restrooms and sports teams aligning with their identity, and drafted the case that overturned Roe v. Wade — and the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) — a group of conservative doctors who support conversion therapy. 
• At the time, there were few bills similar to Deutsch’s legislation. The act eventually failed in the Senate after doctors argued that they should not be sent to prison for following medical consensus. 
• Emails showed that once the bill failed, the group started new strategy brainstorming sessions, highlighting and workshopping more ways to attack the trans community. 
• Despite the failure, anti-trans activists saw a victory as similar bills started popping up in numerous states. Margaret Clark, general counsel for the Alabama branch of the Eagle Forum, said to Deutsch:

“You successfully inspired, encouraged, and counseled…efforts around the country. You established the ideal witness list that we are all still following in our individual states…And, most importantly you connected us all to each other. This is just the beginning.”

The impact

• Deutsch’s bill led to a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation — at least 18 states have considered bills with language closely resembling Deutsch’s in just this legislative season. Elisa Rae Shupe, a retired U.S. Army soldier who was a vocal anti-trans advocate, said: 

“It was like Deutsch assembled a team of Navy SEALs—we were all trained killers in a specialty.”

• Shupe is a trans woman who detransitioned while working with Deutsch’s group, and has since retransitioned and disavowed her old activism. She told Mother Jones that the religious right-wing rhetoric is not about helping children; it’s “just a front for what they do behind the scenes.” She continued:

“It’s like they want to do as much damage to the trans community as they can.”

• Deutsch’s network and influence have spread nationwide, leading to almost 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills either being considered or already passed in the U.S. The attack on trans rights has become so intense that the Human Rights Campaign issued a national state of emergency for the community earlier this year. 

Do you want to see more action taken to protect trans rights in America? Contact your representatives now.

-Jamie Epstein