Melissa Moore
Melissa Moore, Lowcountry Manager for WREN, delivered this testimony opposing H3477 to the South Carolina House Special Laws Committee on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
Before I start, I want to speak directly to my transgender community now – especially the young people who may be listening. I see you. You are more than enough. Keep resisting these attempts to erase you. Keep shining. Don't extinguish your light because people feel threatened by its brightness. Your existence is your resistance.
In her opening at the first hearing, Rep. Trantham mentioned the South Carolina High School League policy that has allowed trans kids to play on teams consistent with their gender identity since 2016. I actually helped develop that policy that's been in place now for 6 years, and no one has been harmed by that policy. The AP quoted Rep. Trantham as saying there have been no complaints of transgender students playing on girls’ teams yet, but her intention was to prevent it from happening before it could become a problem. Why, Rep. Trantham, won’t you focus on REAL problems?
Most of the testimony I've heard supporting this bill is fear-based and from people speaking in hypotheticals. It’s a bunch of paper tiger paranoia. It's no easy process that trans kids have to go through to meet eligibility requirements to play on sports teams. They have to jump through many hoops to qualify for teams. And the schools are fully capable of making determinations about eligibility on their own. They don’t need your help.
The Post & Courier published an article this past month about an uptick in youth suicide due to the stress of the pandemic. A renowned pediatrician was quoted in the article that Increased access to guns is making the problem even worse. Transgender children are at an elevated risk of suicide, not because they are inherently more depressed than non-transgender kids. But because they are often targets of bullying. Peer-to-peer bullying is an unfortunate part of growing up, but when adults bully children, it’s absolutely shameful and abhorrent.
All of you who support this bill are nothing more than over-grown schoolyard bullies picking on children with all the force of the state behind you. What this bill and so many others before it does is attempt to erase transgender people from public life. You’re attempting to force these kids into a social death, so it’s no wonder why so many of them can’t see a future for themselves. And if you think that problems affecting transgender children don’t affect non-transgender children, you’re gravely mistaken. It’s a fact that suicidal ideation is contagious. When one child is suicidal, it creates a domino effect in their school communities. Participation in team sports is a well-known protective factor that helps prevent youth suicide. Why ban anyone from activities that will give them life?
And while we’re on the subject of life, the legislators who throw the word “life” around sure don’t seem to care that their actions and inactions are actually killing people. I wonder how many people died preventable deaths in the 7 years it took the SC Gen assembly to pass the cervical cancer prevention act? I wonder how many people will die preventable deaths from all the deadly bills you are fast tracking now while ignoring life-saving pandemic relief? Open carry? abortion bans that will no doubt lead to preventable deaths of people who can get pregnant, death penalty enhancement bills? You’re allowing bigotry to pollute your mind just as H3753 would allow big plastic to poison our communities. You talk a big game about life, but this legislature’s priorities deal in death. Instead of throwing a life line to your drowning constituents, you’re throwing bricks.
I have learned to expect the worst from certain members of the SC general assembly, so I was sickened, but not surprised when I heard that legislators were picking on children. This should go without saying, but transgender children are children, not red meat for hateful, predatory people. Yes, this bill is predatory.
For Trans & Queer Field Day, Melissa spoke at our press conference in celebration of the end of the 2021 legislative session in South Carolina.
“But if we keep our heads up, support each other, stay accountable to each other, and keep up the fight, we will win – because ultimately, we are right.”
Hello, my name is Melissa Moore, I use they/them pronouns, and I work with WREN here in South Carolina. I’m the last speaker today – so don’t worry, we’ll get to the Field Day festivities really shortly. I wanted to take this moment to really lift up and dedicate this day to the trans and nonbinary youth who have been at the center of the attacks from this legislative session. I want y’all to know that your existence is your resistance – and that you are not alone in that resistance. We are all here fighting alongside you, and ultimately, we will win. Love and dignity will win, and it will be our love for community, our solidarity with one another that will pull us through.
When we defeat these anti-transgender bills – and believe me, we will defeat them – we will need to build the South Carolina we want to live in. A place where LGBTQ people can not just survive, but thrive. A place where our people can love who we love without fear of the state stripping us of our healthcare, human dignity, or civil rights. A world where trans people can live full and happy lives in public if we so choose or in under the radar if that is our wish. Right now, there’s a push to impose a social death sentence on our people by banning us from public life or attempting to eradicate us through the heinous practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” Together, we will co-create healing spaces that can hold all of our people, from youth to elders, and that are accessible to everyone in our community through a consistent practice of language justice, disability justice, racial justice, and economic justice.
We need to dream big and fight with everything we’ve got – because we are only limited by our imagination. We are facing some really grave threats from a fringe death cult in our government who talks a big game about life, but whose priorities deal in death. They want to allow industry to poison our communities, put more guns on our streets, throw more people into prisons, execute people in horrific ways, control our reproduction, and limit our access to healthcare. But they cannot win because we are organized, we are pissed, and we are animated by the spirit of love for one another. I’m reminded of a quote, and I wish I could remember who said this, but it goes, “your anger is the part of you that loves yourself.” I am deeply inspired today by this event – and I have been deeply inspired by the way that y’all continue to show up this legislative session. Your commitment lifts my spirits when I feel low.
I know that it’s hard to keep fighting, but my mom was right when she told me that perseverance is the difference between success and failure. Elected officials have the power to make and change laws, but we gave them that power and we can take it away. The power that you and I have together is the real power. That is why the “death cult” I mentioned works so hard to silence us- because they fear our collective strength.
So shake away that feeling of futility. Whenever we hear the voice doubt – or we hear it said out loud from someone else – push back. Tell it that “I deserve to be happy and healthy. I deserve to live a life of abundance. I am more than enough.”
We are powerful. We are leading, and we are making a difference. It will be hard. We will not win every time. But if we keep our heads up, support each other, stay accountable to each other, and keep up the fight, we will win – because ultimately, we are right.
Thank you for coming out to reflect on this long and hard legislative session. And we want to be sure everyone knows that we’re headed to the park now for some fun, games, food, and community building. It’s a happy Sunday.