Write & Call Against Anti-Trans Legislation
Across the United States, anti-trans legislation is threatening God’s beloved children. A wave of cruel legislation is threatening trans existence by seeking to remove healthcare access, full inclusion in schools, use of public facilities, and more. This rash of legislation exists because fearful Christians are using trans people as a political and religious scapegoat.
Trans people already face heightened levels of discrimination and violence. As Reconciling United Methodists – people of faith committed to the affirmation and inclusion of God’s LGBTQ children – we have a spiritual obligation to speak out.
On this page, we’ve included example language for:
- Calling your state legislators’ offices
- A letter to the editor for your local newspapers
- An op-ed for your local newspapers
You’ll see that some language is repeated in these three pieces.
Please feel free to use this language or to adapt it for your use. This language exists to help you, but we encourage you to make it your own if you’d prefer that.
Engage your Reconciling Church or Community to call in or write in with you! Our power is in our numbers, our voices, and our prayers.
To learn about anti-trans legislation in your state, click here.
If you have any questions about how to get in touch with your state legislators, leave a comment and we’ll be glad to help.
Call Script
Hi [staff-person’s name]. My name is [name] and I’m calling from [town, state] and am a constituent of [legislator]. I am a Christian, and I’m appalled by [bill #] and calling on [legislator] to OPPOSE this bill.
I understand that transgender people, and transgender children in particular, have become a political punching bag, when instead, they should be treated as God’s beloved and holy children.
As a Christian [add any qualifiers here, including if you are clergy or serving a church in another way], I am impelled by the example of Jesus to treat all persons with love and dignity but to especially care for those who are marginalized by religious establishment and society. Today, transgender children are marginalized by religious establishment and society. They are outcast from simple growing-up experiences we want all of our children to have: the chance to participate fairly in sports, the promise of dignifying healthcare, the right to use a safe bathroom, and more.
[If speaking to a staff-person]
Do you know how [legislator] plans to vote on this bill? Can we count on them to oppose this bill?
[Wait for response.]
Thank you for taking this call and passing my remarks along to [legislator].
[If leaving a message]
Thank you for taking my call and passing my remarks along to [legislator].
Letter to the editor
I am a person of faith appalled by [bill #] and calling on the legislature of [state] to oppose this bill. [Bill #] is designed to [what is the purpose of the bill? Be specific.]
[Bill #] was introduced [date or number of weeks/months ago] in the same spirit in which other anti-trans bills have been introduced around the country. Transgender people, and transgender children in particular, have become a political punching bag, when instead, they should be treated as God’s beloved and holy children.
As a Christian [add any qualifiers here, including if you are clergy or serving a church in another way], I am impelled by the example of Jesus to treat all persons with love and dignity but to especially care for those who are marginalized by religious establishment and society. Today, transgender children are marginalized by religious establishment and society. They are outcast from simple growing-up experiences we want all of our children to have: the chance to participate fairly in sports, the promise of dignifying healthcare, the right to use a safe bathroom, and more.
While some supporters of anti-trans legislation hope that marginalizing trans people aligns with their religious values, my faith clearly stands against that notion. Our charge as Christians is simple, as told by Jesus according to the Gospel of Mark: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. There is no commandment greater than these.”
[Your name]
[Your city, your state]
Op-Ed
I am a person of faith appalled by [bill #] and calling on the legislature of [state] to oppose this bill. [Bill #] is designed to [what is the purpose of the bill? Be specific.]
[Bill #] was introduced [date or number of weeks/months ago] in the same spirit in which other anti-trans bills have been introduced around the country. Transgender people, and transgender children in particular, have become a political punching bag, when instead, they should be treated as God’s beloved and holy children.
As a Christian [add any qualifiers here, including if you are clergy or serving a church in another way], I am impelled by the example of Jesus to treat all persons with love and dignity but to especially care for those who are marginalized by religious establishment and society. Today, transgender children are marginalized by religious establishment and society. They are outcast from simple growing-up experiences we want all of our children to have: the chance to participate fairly in sports, the promise of dignifying healthcare, the right to use a safe bathroom, and more.
[If you have a personal story about why trans justice is so important to you, this is the paragraph in which to write it. Do not write about any particular person with any identifying information unless you have their explicit permission to write about them in this context.]
It is possible that [bill #] was introduced by legislators that had good intentions about the safety of vulnerable individuals and about religious freedom. But our fear for girls’ safety in public spaces is not about trans people, who are often the victims of violence and rarely the perpetrators of violence. Rather, that fear is about the behavior of men. If we wish to keep girls safe, we must address misogyny and gendered violence perpetrated by men, not the fantasy that trans people are violent. Research consistently shows that trans people are up to four times more likely to be victimized by violent crime. Legislation and public discourse that pathologize transgender people only make them more vulnerable to violence. If we are serious about protecting vulnerable people – especially vulnerable children – then we must be willing to believe trans people about who they are and treat them with the same dignity and consideration we’d give to cisgender people.
Additionally, freedom of religious expression is a red herring. Christians like me are not a persecuted minority. We are a people having to reckon with a nation that is changing and that demands the nimbleness and adaptability of our faith. Our charge as Christians is simple, as told by Jesus according to the Gospel of Mark: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. There is no commandment greater than these.”
I suggest that those of us who are Christians get to work doing just that.
Additional Resources
Guide for Journalists: Reporting On Anti-Trans State Legislation (GLAAD)
Talking about Family Acceptance & Transgender Youth (Movement Advancement Project)
Talking about Transgender Students & School Facilities Access (Movement Advancement Project)
Talking about Transgender Youth Participation in Sports (Movement Advancement Project)
