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Pride at Work Executive Director Jerame Davis wrote an op-ed condemning the nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in states across the country:
Not only are these bills bad for human and worker rights, but they are also detrimental to our democracy. Moreover, this wave of legislation is not being driven by public will. Poll after poll has shown that most Americans support queer and trans rights and view the number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills as political theater and a distraction.
State legislators are appealing to only the most extremist part of their base and secret money front-groups that have funded anti-trans attack ads, lobbied against the Equality Act and funded extremist school board candidates. Current disclosure loopholes allow corporations and billionaires to fund these candidates and positions with no transparency or accountability.
Research from the UCLA School of Law demonstrates that LGBTQ+ inclusive laws are strongly associated with democracy, and autocracies have been shown to be less inclusive regardless of public support for LGBTQ+ rights. This wave of anti-queer and trans legislation is a dangerous sign of democratic backsliding.