What is it with the conservative wing of the Republican Party and transphobia? This past week, at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Committee conference, numerous speakers urged their party to support legislation to criminalize any act of doctors and parents to offer gender-affirming care.

Do they really think this is a winning political strategy? One speaker said that “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.” What does that mean exactly? This alarming rhetoric is coming from the members of a party that claims to be in favor of limited government.

First they came after access to basic reproductive health for people with uteruses. Now they are coming after a person’s right to express their true gender. What comes next? The “right” to get a vasectomy? The “right” to use a condom?

These people are a threat to our democracy. They are coming after our rights to make life choices that do not align with their conservative religious or political views.

Kevin Carley
Portland