Transphobic Legislation is a Violation of Liberty

Historically, U.S. LGBTQIA+ citizens — especially transgender people — have been victims of hate crimes, systemic oppression and social ostracization.

Some progress has been made toward legal and social equality in recent decades, but as President Donald Trump moves through his second term, transgender citizens are facing new legislative setbacks, going against America’s mission of liberty and justice for all.

In January 2025, Trump released Executive Order 14187, which prohibits doctors from receiving federal Medicaid or Medicare funds to perform gender-affirming care for those under 19 years of age and publicly condemned doctors who performed these operations.

According to a Feb. 8 New York Times (NYT) article, this Executive Order caused hundreds of hospitals to pause or end gender-affirming care for minors.

Further, Kansas’ state government passed Senate Bill 244 on Feb. 18, which invalidated the drivers’ licenses of transgender citizens whose gender markers didn’t match their sex assigned at birth.

According to a Feb. 18 NYT article, Rep. Susan Humphries (R-Kan.), the bill’s sponsor, claimed it was about protecting the truth of biological sex. However, the bill is less about truth and more about a goal that has been present throughout Trump's second term: restricting trans rights.

By passing this kind of legislation, the U.S. government, federal and state, undermine its promise of freedom for all citizens.

Medical equality for transgender folks has also been significantly restricted. The Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced new restrictions, which execute the policies outlined in Trump's executive order on pediatric gender-affirming care, according to a Dec. 18 NPR article.

"So-called gender affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people," Kennedy said in the article. "This is not medicine. It is malpractice."

Documented medical evidence counters these claims. According to a 2022 article by the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, gender-affirming care can greatly improve the mental health of gender diverse children.

The DHHS’s goal is to provide effective health care to U.S. citizens by advancing public and social health through scientific research, according to its website. However, in condemning gender-affirming care, Trump and the DHHS undermine this supposed core mission.

One organization that is also shaping government policy conversations around gender-affirming care is the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that produces research and policy proposals for federal and state officials, according to its website.

According to an Aug. 17 NPR article, The Heritage Foundation, which published Project 2025, has deep ties with the Trump administration.

In a Feb. 24 post on X, the Heritage Foundation endorsed banning schools from allowing children to socially transition — including changing names, pronouns and gender presentation — citing the recent case of Sage Blair.

According to a Feb. 25 article by the NYT, Blair had, at the time, socially transitioned from female to male at school and was encouraged to use the men’s restroom by her counselors. Blair was later sexually assaulted in that restroom and, after running away from home, was trafficked across several state borders.

Instead of focusing on transgender people being targets for harassment and condemning the boys who assaulted Blair or the people who trafficked her, the Heritage Foundation redirected the blame toward the school officials who supported her social transition.

“Federal action is necessary to protect children like [Blair] from the predatory conduct of gender ideology proponents,” the organization wrote.

In addition, according to the Feb. 25 NYT article, Trump also said that state governments must ban children from socially transitioning without parental consent.

If these bans were to be passed, it would put many transgender children in danger, especially in rural areas.

According to a 2025 literature review published in the research journal Youth, rural, transgender youth are significantly more likely to experience social ostracization, victimization and poor mental health outcomes.

Greyson Moorman, a member of Students for a Democratic Society at MSU, agreed.

“There are going to be transphobic parents,” he said. “It may tear families apart, it may create schisms in the family, and it will cause direct harm to kids if [the ban] is passed.”

Maris Fessenden, the current vice chair of Queer Bozeman, said that anti-trans legislation in general may also violate the First Amendment.

“I think that being trans, expressing yourself and your inherent, innate identity is absolutely free speech,” said Fessenden, who clarified that their opinion does not reflect Queer Bozeman’s position as an organization.

Transgender people deserve the same protections as any American. If the government refuses to grant these, it undermines its duty to equitable treatment for all.