Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) believes there is a “national attack on trans rights at the state level” and said it is necessary for Americans to educate themselves about “gender affirmation” because “ignorance is what’s weaponized to pass laws that hurt people.”
The New York lawmaker responded to a series of questions on Instagram on Tuesday evening, one of which asked for her opinion on Arkansas “banning gender affirmation for transgender youth.”
“It’s a super important question. Right now, in addition to the wave of voter suppression laws passing at the state level across the country, there’s also a national attack on trans rights at the state level, and we really need to talk about it,” the far-left Democrat said.
“Listen. This is really important. Bigotry requires disinformation. Bigoted laws have required lies about the classes of people that they are oppressing for forever. It’s how it works, and it’s happening against trans people,” she continued, contending that it is “so important” for “cis people” to “hear from the trans community and actually educate ourselves about gender affirmation.”
“Because our ignorance is what’s weaponized to pass laws that hurt people. So as a cis person how do you do that? Well, it’s great that you ask, because tomorrow is actually the National Trans Day of Visibility,” she said, listing three accounts and encouraging her followers to “dive in” and find more:
Last week, Arkansas became the third state in the nation to take action by protecting women and girls from competing against biological males in women’s sports — an action left-wing critics describe as “cruel and harmful.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) signed SB 354, which bars men from competing in women’s sports, even if they identify as a female. Idaho and Mississippi have similar laws in place.