The most active impact resulting from banning LGBTQ books has been on gender-affirming treatment of children. Most actions have been local and restricted to specific issues. Anti-LGBTQ legislation has not been as active. One area that has remained relatively static is that of banning books. In most cases, this is done at the local school district’s board or library boards. Of the 87 districts with specific bans, 70 experienced local push-back.
Only three states’ actions resulted 80% of all documented book removals: Florida 2,304; Texas 1,781; Tennessee 1,622. A few other states were involved to a lesser extent. The rise of State-Mandated “No-Read” lists is a move toward statewide censorship. The titles were not limited to LGBTQ books, and Stephen King was the author banned the most often.
The number of local school district boards, that were very active a few years ago, has declined as activists got tired of all the meetings, conflict, and recusal of many actions by the courts. It just became more trouble than it was worth in the results. Also, the passion of some folks just died out. Some boards became more active regarding other issues than book bans. In many cases, the school budgets became the over-riding issue.
The “Culture Wars” in the 2024 Election seem to have cooled as the economy became the primarily issue of voters. The higher cost of living, unaffordable housing, and scarcity of tech jobs came to the forefront and favored Democratic candidates in the special elections.
It is too soon to assume that LBTQ issues are being pushed to the backburner of public opinion. There is still a strong hatred by MAGA voters who simply are hung up about sex. Their imaginations simply are more intense than their logic. The irony of favorable public opinion about same-sex marriage is a strong sign that public opinion is changing over time. That doesn’t mean that the public is becoming more liberal. We’ve just become boring. Drag queens don’t have the shock value they used to have. They are entertaining at ladies doing lunch now. Transgender people will continue to have lots of problems, particularly as long as the Trump Administration stays in office.
People of color and LGBTQ folks are individual targets for job cuts in the government as Trump reduces mass layoffs. DOGE was a flop, and many cuts have been rescinded in the courts. To date the total is reported to be 317,000 laid off across the board in all agencies. That is a significant reduction in force, but a few departments appear to taken the brunt of it. AID, IRS, DOE (education) had severe cuts without regard to any factor. The cuts aren’t over, but the political priority now is to improve the economy. Trump’s ratings are at an all-time low.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.