As Gov. Doug Burgum was planning his State of the State speech – themed “The Good Life” – plans were being finalized by our state legislators to show that the “Good Life” was only for certain people in North Dakota.
Over 20 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bills have been submitted this session, gaining our state national attention for all the wrong reasons; none of which do anything to push our state forward.
Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, has bragged on his social media page about his intention to shun queer voices and ensure queer erasure. When pressed on the suicide statistics among queer people, showing research that anti-queer legislation tends to make those statistic rise, Mr. Kasper responded, “There is no attempt to ‘erase’ or ‘harm’ people who are confused about gender identity issues. My deepest sympathies for those who feel the need to self-harm over legislation that they don’t agree with.”
The callousness of this statement took my breath away.
Please message Mr. Kasper and every legislator to let them know that all people deserve to live a life of peace, happiness, and authenticity in North Dakota. Encourage no votes on all anti-trans, and anti-queer bills that hit the floor this session. Let them know that North Dakota is better than the discriminatory and callous bills Mr. Kasper and his friends put forward. When they do vote for these bills, we will use our power in the next election to vote them out, then maybe our state can move out of the shadows.
The Trust Project
