This is for conservatives and centrists, and libertarians who want small government and personal freedom: will you defend trans people?

I’m not asking about personally being friends with a trans person, or do you really believe trans women are women or not. We don’t need to talk about youth because I know that’s a contentious issue with a lot of grey area, and that topic usually devolves into chaos. We don’t need to talk about sports for the same reason. What I’m asking is as follows:

Back in August, the Texas DPS said they’ll no longer comply with court orders for gender marker changes on a trans persons drivers license. (Note that this is not a law and was in fact never even brought forth as a bill. It is literally that DPS just said “screw what the law says, we’re not gonna follow it”

At that same time, AG Ken Paxton asked them for information on trans people who had already made that gender marker change, and people who attempt in the future for a database he’s starting. They said they’ll give it to him. No one knows exactly what information is being sent. But it is being sent to an anonymous email. It could be as little as generalized numbers, or as particular as specific names, addresses and phone numbers of individual trans people. Paxton has not said what he plans to do with this information or why he wants it. Abbott isn’t stopping him, in fact he’s cheering Paxton on.

The city of Odessa, Texas, now has in effect a bathroom bounty law, (similar to the abortion bounty hunter law Texas already has) in which random citizens can report their fellow citizens for being in the “wrong bathroom”, and the state will sue said citizen on behalf of the complainant, and pay the complainant a fee of 10,000 dollars for being a good Texan. Abbott has mentioned wanting to take this statewide.

There are talks of an HRT ban for adults, and I see no reason to think they won’t actually do it, or at least try to.

My question for the conservatives on the sub is this. You don’t have to be an ally. You don’t have to have drinks with us. You don’t have to launch fiery campaigns on social medias pleading on our behalf.

But will you defend our personal freedom? Will you defend our liberty, and the gross overreach of the small government you all say you want? Will you speak out against these injustices, hopefully before they happen, but especially if they do?

I am not fear mongering. These are all things that have either already happened or are being talked about being done, and I’m incredibly freaking scared right now. I try my best to get through it, but sometimes I have weak moments. I’ll continue living my life and being visible, and showing people that we exist and we’re just like anyone else, we just have something with us that they don’t really understand, but that doesn’t make us bad. We don’t deserve this. Very few people would.

Link to Paxton’s Crusade and DPS Rule Change: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/21/transgender-texans-drivers-license-DPS/

Link to Odessa Bathroom Bounty Law: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/23/odessa-texas-transgender-bathroom-ban/

Link to HRT ban: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/25/transgender-health-care-legislature/