Advocacy Update
By Laura K Grubb MD MPH
Chair, Advocacy Committee
As summer is winding down and we are heading into another school year, SAHM continues to support the many issues that impact adolescents and young adults. In the U.S., there have been two large movements in state legislatures since the 2020 election that will adversely impact youth.
First, there has been large-scale efforts to suppress votes and between January 1 and May 14, 2021, at least 14 states enacted 22 new laws that restrict access to the vote.1
Additionally, 18 other states have 61 restrictive voting bills moving through their legislatures. All these laws will not reduce voter fraud or strengthen voter integrity but will restrict people’s right to enfranchisement through such actions as limiting or prohibiting voting by mail, requiring voter identification, restricting poll hours, reducing poll locations, purging voter registration rolls, and increasing difficulty with voter registration.
These laws most definitely impact young adults who are new voters and must navigate a landscape of increasing barriers to voting registration and voting. And these laws aim to disproportionately disenfranchise already marginalized groups in this country. But not all voting news is negative, and some states have worked on improving voting access (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-may-2021), including for persons with disabilities.
How can you help? Well, these efforts are local and state-based, so I encourage you to reach out to your local and state representatives to advocate for voting rights, write an editorial to the local paper, or work with your local medical organization’s chapter (AAP, APHA, AMA, AACAP, AAFP, etc.). You can also encourage your patients or clients to register to vote and advocate for their rights. Here are some resources to get you started:
- https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
- https://vot-er.org/
- https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote
- https://www.commoncause.org/our-work/constitution-courts-and-democracy-issues/for-the-people-act/
- https://whenweallvote.org/
Second, moving through state legislatures are highly limiting and harmful laws that restrict the rights of transgender youth to gender affirming care or to participate in sports. In 2021 alone, states enacted at least 17 anti-LGBTQ bills was enacted into law with an additional 11 anti-bills are on governors’ desks awaiting signature or veto and several more moving through state legislatures across the country.2
Current pending legislation includes: At least 35 bills that would prohibit transgender youth from being able to access best-practice, age-appropriate, gender-affirming medical care, at least 69 bills that would prohibit transgender youth and college students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, at least 43 bills that would allow people to assert a religious belief as justification for failing to abide by the law or provide services to people of whom they disapprove, and at least 15 bills that would prohibit transgender people from having access to restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.
It’s particularly disheartening that these bills target children and adolescents who cannot vote yet and who are already facing significant discrimination and barriers in life. As adults and adolescent advocates, we must use our voices to protect their rights. Currently, SAHM has signed on to an amicus brief with many other organizations in the case Brandt v. Rutledge which charges the Arkansas ban on gender affirming care for transgender youth. I encourage you to track the progress of these propose laws and reach out to local and national organizations including through the resources listed here:
- https://www.advocatesforyouth.org/
- https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/count-me-in
- https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/
- https://transequality.org/2021-state-action-center
So, I encourage every one of us to use our voices and enlist our allies to advocate for these crucial issues that impact adolescents and young adults. And as always, if you have an idea or issue that you would like SAHM to work on, please email me at lgrubb@tuftsmedicalcenter.org.
Happy advocating!
Notes:
1. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-may-2021. Accessed August 1, 2021.
2. The Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/2021-officially-becomes-worst-year-in-recent-history-for-lgbtq-state-legislative-attacks-as-unprecedented-number-of-states-enact-record-shattering-number-of-anti-lgbtq-measures-into-law. Accessed August 01, 2021.
