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60+ Rhode Island Organizations Urge General Assembly to Reject Harmful Legislation Targeting LGBTQ+ People
Organizations are joined by 400+ individual signers from across the state including medical providers, behavioral health providers, teachers, parents, and other concerned Rhode Islanders
A coalition of local organizations, advocates, and community members have sent an open letter to Rhode Island legislators urging them to reject a series of proposed bills that would undermine the well-being of LGBTQ+ people in the state.
The letter was signed by over 60 organizations, including the National Education Association Rhode Island, Rhode Island Medical Society, Rhode Island Academy of Family Physicians, Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Rhode Island Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rhode Island Psychological Association, Rhode Island Section of American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families, Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Rhode Island Black Business Association, and Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights.
“The majority of Rhode Islanders support equality, and we’ve proven that from one legislative session to the next,” the letter reads. It describes a series of proposed bills that target LGBTQ+ people and “run counter to our commitment to protect our families, friends, and neighbors,” including:
- A dangerous bill that would ban standard-of-care medical care for transgender youth – care that is supported as safe and effective by every major U.S. professional medical association, taking away parents’ ability to get their children the healthcare they need, as well as removing established protections in healthcare insurance coverage (H7884, S2703)
- Bills targeting transgender students for exclusion by prohibiting them from playing on school sports teams with their friends and potentially subjecting any female student athlete to invasive medical exams (H7727, S2660)
- Proposals which would threaten schools and teachers with penalties for not complying with vague requirements to allow virtually any individual parent to dictate school lesson plans, remove teachers’ and school staffs’ ability to support LGBTQ+ students in school, and mandate the forced outing of LGBTQ youth without regard to students’ safety (H7781, S2424, H7873, S2041)
- A bill that could be used to classify any material with LGBTQ+ content as obscene and levy criminal charges (S2104)
- A dangerous bill that would threaten the health of every Rhode Islander by allowing any medical provider, healthcare facility, or insurance plan to refuse to provide care based on the vague assertion that it violates their conscience (S2423)
The letter, which was also signed by over 400+ individual Rhode Islanders – including medical providers, behavioral health providers, teachers, parents, and other concerned residents – from towns across the state, goes on to read:
“Rhode Island protected transgender people under the law more than 20 years ago, recognizing that as the necessary first step to end the mistreatment too often experienced by the community. Nearly a decade has passed since our schools implemented policies to support transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse students. We should be well beyond debates about transgender Rhode Islanders’ basic dignity and humanity and respect for their ability to live, work, go to school and participate in public life on the same terms as everyone else.”
“Rhode Islanders want our elected senators and representatives to work on policies that will actually improve the lives of everyone in the Ocean State, not stir up baseless fear about a small group of people.”
The organizations signing the letter are:
Thundermist Health Center
TGI Network of Rhode Island Inc.
Youth Pride, Inc.
Sojourner House
Project Weber/RENEW
Haus of Codec
Pride in Aging RI
Newport Pride
PFLAG Greater Providence
The Womxn Project
Young Voices
Rhode Island ACLU
Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights
National Education Association Rhode Island
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Economic Progress Institute
Women’s Fund of Rhode Island
SHIP
COYOTE RI
Amnesty International USA 1016
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
The Trevor Project
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
Rhode Island Public Health Institute
Open Door Health
Family Service of Rhode Island
Thrive Behavioral Health
Rhode Island Medical Society
Rhode Island Academy of Family Physicians
Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Rhode Island Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Rhode Island Psychological Association
Rhode Island Section of American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Washington County Health Equity Zone
One Cranston Health Equity Zone
Protect Our Healthcare Coalition RI
Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families
Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence
SafeBAE
Haven Box
Women’s Health & Education Fund
Rhode Island State Council of Churches
Hope and Change Partnership
Rhode Island Democratic Party LGBTQ+ Caucus
RI Working Families Power
Rhode Island Black Business Association
East Greenwich Pediatrics
Trident Psychological Services
East Side Psychotherapy, Inc.
Ann Adler, Ph.D., LLC
Providence Wellness, LLC
Radically Thrive Therapy, LLC
Wilder Therapy & Wellness
Bellwether Doulas
OkaySo
Secular Student Alliance
Rhode Island Atheists
Humanists of Rhode Island
Barrington United With Pride
Towards an Anti-Racist North Kingstown (TANK)
People Respecting Others With Dignity! (PROWD!)
Ryder | Talbutt Group
FabNewport
Carberry Development Group
CJG Notary of RI, LLC
Public Shop & Gallery
Sharper Harper LLC
And an additional 400+ individual signatures from across the state including medical providers, behavioral health providers, teachers, parents, and other concerned Rhode Islanders
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