“If I hadn’t been a girl, I’d have been a drag Queen.” – Dolly Parton

On May 11 the Department of Homeland Security reported threats of violence against the LGBTQ+ community are intensifying.  As GOP dominated states passed laws targeting this community, harassment of these people increases nationwide.  This government and private persecution is driving an exodus from red states.

In 2021 Texas real estate agent Bob McCranie founded Flee Red States after seeing intimidation of his LGBTQ+ friends and colleagues. The Guardian reported that now Flee Red States operates almost like a refugee organization”.

In a recent speech Alex Wagner, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower said some military families are “forced to move to new bases to protect their children from homophobic bullying at school.  He also said this problem is, “detracting from our readiness.”

The June 6th Guardian reported, “50% of LGBTQ+ Florida parents wish to move”.  A woman who left Texas to protect her trans son told the paper, “I feel like a political refugee in my own country.”

A blue Oregon is not likely to pass homophobic laws but hate still lives here.  Last month the Oregonian said hate crime reports to the Oregon Department of Justice bias hot line have tripled since 2020.

In May, a Portland Elementary School canceled an optional after-class pride event because of threats of violence.  At the Crook County Library in Prineville LGBTQ+ books have been vandalized and thrown away.  In June the Tigard Library canceled a drag Queen storytime because of what Tigard Police said were “repeated threats of violence”.  The Chair of the Washington County GOP told the Oregonian that these threats were made by “Antifa”.

Hate lives in Coos County. On any given Monday you are likely to hear bigoted remarks on the Rob Taylor radio program.  In March, Coos News reported a Coos Bay restaurant owner, “suffered death threats and verbal abuse because the business hosted drag Queen Bingo last year.  In May, Coos News said, “Transgender & LGBTQ promotion is aiding ‘The Destruction of Western Civilization’”.

Hate hurts.  Writing in The Conversation, Michigan State Psychology Professor Jae Puckett cited a recent survey by the Trevor Project that found 86% of LGBTQ+ youth reported the debate about homophobic legislation “negatively influenced their mental health.”  Professor Puckett said families of these youth “also report fearing for their safety.”  He concluded, “The research is clear that the political climate itself can have significant negative effects on the lives of trans and nonbinary people”.  In June the Mayo Clinic reported 41% of LGBTQ+ youth, “expressed serious suicidal ideation.”

Homophobic haters often claim they are, “protecting” children from pedophilia and pornography – this is a lie.  There is a huge body of research showing the LGBTQ+ community does not have a higher percentage of pedophiles than the general population. The Stop Abuse Campaign working to protect children summarizes some of this research on their web site.  They state, “The demographics of sex offenders mirrored the demographics of American.”  They also state, “In a one-year period at a major child abuse center less than 1% of the abusers who were identified were in a homosexual relationship.:  A separate study found, “gay men were no more likely to be attracted to prepubescent boys than straight men were attracted to prepubescent girls.”  As for pornography, worry about the internet not drag Queens. 15% of children 10 and younger and 50% of those younger than 13 have viewed pornography on line.

Why is the authoritarian right obsessed with the sexuality of others?