- Most of the 300-plus bills proposed in 2022 targeting LGBTQ rights are aimed at transgender people, largely youth.
- As 2022 midterm elections approach, some parents worried about legislative attacks on their transgender kids are fleeing home states.
- Relocating to trans-friendly states can mean losing jobs, family ties and childcare — and bring a higher cost of living.
For former Dallas writer and teacher Violet Augustine, the alarm bells first went off in October 2021, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill banning trans kids from playing on sports teams aligned with their gender identity.
Suddenly, the notion dawned on Augustine, whose 6-year-old trans daughter, Isa, is a skilled swimmer, that she might have to leave her native state. Probably within a decade, she figured. But when Dallas’ Children’s Medical Center announced a month later that it was shutting down its acclaimed youth gender-affirming care program, her time estimate shrank by half.
Then, in February, Abbott issued an order directing the state’s child-welfare agency to investigate providers of gender-affirming care for youth.
Suddenly, Augustine’s timeline became immediate. Isa’s school community had been, if not supportive, at least tolerant of her identity. She wondered: Are they going to report us now?
In June, Augustine, 37, decided to flee Texas for California, using the money she’d been saving to buy a home to fund their relocation.
As the 2022 midterms approach, an onslaught of legislation…
