Elliot Page is urging Tennessee governor Bill Lee not to sign a trio of anti-trans bills currently headed to his desk. If allowed to become law, the proposals would make it more difficult for transgender people to use public restrooms in a safe, affirming manner or access health care intended to affirm their sense of self.
In a Tuesday tweet, Page asked his followers to contact Lee’s office and demand he veto all three pieces of legislation.
“Call or email @GovBillLee and tell him that trans people who live in Tennessee deserve equality and access to healthcare and public accommodations just like any other citizen,” Page wrote to his 1.9 million followers.
Attached to the tweet was Tennessee Equality Project’s website, which offers instructions how to contact the governor’s office.
The proposed pieces of legislation include two bathroom bills, each of which would be the first of their kind passed in the United States.
House Bill 1233 allow cisgender students to sue if they are forced to share a locker room, restroom, or sleeping quarters with a “person of the opposite sex.” HB 1182, meanwhile, would shame businesses that allow trans people to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. These companies would be forced to post a sign reading, “This facility maintains a policy of allowing the use of restrooms by either biological sex, regardless of the designation on the restroom.
The final proposal, Senate Bill 126, would prohibit medical providers from offering gender-affirming treatments to minors, such as hormones and puberty blockers. As them. previously reported, Tennessee Republicans are attempting to sneak in SB 126 through the back door after attaching it to an unrelated regulatory bill.
Each of these bills have passed the State House and Senate, leaving them one signature away from becoming law. LGBTQ+ advocates are calling on Lee not to sign these bills, especially since the legislative session adjourned on Wednesday.
“Now that the rush of the legislative session has ended, Governor Lee has the opportunity to reflect on the impact of these destructive bills,” Chris Sanders, the executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, told them. in a statement. “He can serve his constitutional role as a check on discriminatory legislation. More than that, he can choose to represent and protect all his constituents, including the transgender residents of Tennessee.”
If approved by Lee, these discriminatory pieces of legislation would be among five anti-LGBTQ+ bills to be enacted this year. On Monday, the GOP lawmaker signed SB 1229, which requires a parent or guardian be notified before topics surrounding sexual orientation or gender identity are taught in schools. If parents object to LGBTQ+ education, the bill allows them to “opt out” of their children receiving the instruction.
