Efforts to protect transgender care in Connecticut

By Katie Pellico,

Published June 29, 2023 at 8:23 AM EDT

A pride flag blows in the wind above the Connecticut State Capitol after it was raised June 1, 2023 to mark the start of pride month. Speaking at raising, Connecticut resident and contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Robin Fierce said, "For a state to raise this flag in honor of Pride Month may seem small and insignificant to some, but to others it gives hope. To others it shows love. To others it acknowledges that we see all of them for who they are and all of who they are." — A pride flag blows in the wind above the Connecticut State Capitol after it was raised June 01, 2023 to mark the start of pride month. Speaking at raising, Connecticut resident and contestant on Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Robin Fierce said, “For a state to raise this flag in honor of pride month may seem small and insignificant to some, but to others it gives hope. To others it shows love. To others it acknowledges that we see all of them for who they are and all of who they are.”

Earlier this month, the Human Rights Campaign declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQ people, following "the worst year on record" for the number of anti-LGBTQ legislative proposals and wins.

The ACLU mapped and tracked 491 bills this session, including two in Connecticut. Many of those proposals are aimed at gender-affirming health care.

There are several protections for trans and nonbinary people in Connecticut, and in some cases, beyond the border. Connecticut's Safe Harbor Law, passed in response to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, includes legal protections for people seeking gender-affirming health care from out-of-state.

But advocates say the state is not immune from ideological or political attack. Diana Lombardi, the former executive director of the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition, and a current member of Governor Lamont’s Hate Crimes Advisory Council, notes the favorable political climate and support from "the governor on down." But "my concern here in the state of Connecticut is that pressure would be mounting to do away with our health care," she says.

This hour, we hear from the ACLU's Gillian Branstetter, and independent journalist Erin Reed, who has been maintaining a monthly "legislative risk" map of the U.S. Plus, Katy Tierney, the medical director at Middlesex Health Center for Gender Medicine and Wellness, and local reporter Dawn Ennis.

GUESTS:

William Tong: Connecticut Attorney General
Gillian Branstetter: Communications Strategist for the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project and LGBTQ & HIV Project
Erin Reed: Independent Journalist; Author, Erin in the Morning on Substack
Diana Lombardi: Executive Director of Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition and member of Lamont’s Hate Crimes Advisory Council
Katy Tierney: Medical Director, Middlesex Health Center for Gender Medicine and Wellness
Dawn Ennis: Reporter and Opinion Columnist

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