These LGBTQ lawmakers want to make their states a refuge for trans kids

On Tuesday, lawmakers introduced a plan to create what some are calling a “rainbow wall”.

For the past few months, Colorado state Rep. Brianna Titone (D) has kept a close eye on the bills neighboring states have been proposing — bills that aim to curb the rights of transgender children from participating in youth sports, accessing bathrooms and getting gender-affirming health care.

There’s Arizona, Oklahoma and Utah, which all passed laws barring trans kids — with a focus on girls, in particular — from playing on teams that align with their gender identity. In Kansas, a similar bill passed the state Senate, but was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. And in Idaho, lawmakers sought to criminalize the act of seeking gender-affirming care out of state.

An Idaho bill would criminalize medical treatments for trans youths. It echoes abortion bans.

Then there’s Texas, where earlier this year, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) directed child welfare services to investigate gender-affirming care for children as “child abuse.”

“I’ve been getting referrals from people in different states, especially Texas, because they feel like they can’t live there anymore,” Titone said.

Colorado, unlike many of the states encircling it, has moved to advance LGBTQ rights in recent years: a “blue state in a sea of red,” Titone said.

On Tuesday, Titone joined a group of LGBTQ legislators across the country who announced plans to offer refuge to transgender youth and their families amid an unprecedented wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, much of it directed toward trans kids.

Legislators say the effort was inspired by “sanctuary” laws that have similarly shielded undocumented immigrants…

So far, 20 states have pledged to or have already introduced bills that offer a legal shield to families displaced by anti-LGBTQ policies

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