Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire and around our country have put forward waves of legislation that restrict trans teenagers’ access to bathrooms, school sports and gender-affirming health care. Our governor recently signed legislation into law that restricts transgender athletes’ access to their high school sports facilities. He used safety as the justification. We should know why terrorizing a marginalized section of our society will make anything for anyone better. The fact that Republicans can’t think of what else to do besides go directly to culture war issues isn’t just revealing about some of the ugliest undercurrents in their party it’s also just profoundly unimaginative, because it means that they can’t speak to how any of their actions are going to make people’s lives better.

Instead of solving problems for us they signal their cruelty. As far as I know, transgender people pose absolutely no threat to our society and creating this kind of legislation merely keeps our legislature busy with nonsense so that it can’t address high priority issues with overwhelming public support like climate change mitigation, or, adequately funding public education, or providing access to women’s health care. I can’t identify the problem that anti-trans legislation solves and I’m pretty sure its authors can’t either. Do not confuse motion with action. We should elect people to office who have ideas that may make our lives better and if all they have to offer are hate-fueled culture war nonsense do not let them get their hands on the levers of power.

John Zavgren

Wilton