Queer+Trans Concerns Around Voting Rights and Money in Politics
On the 4th anniversary of the Shelby v. Holder Supreme Court decision, 40 people gathered at St. Stephen’s and the Incarnation Episcopal Church for a thoughtful and provocative discussion on the impact of money in politics and voting rights for queer and trans people.
The vision of a reflective democracy requires us to see the world through the eyes of others to truly change the system to work for all.
For queer and trans people, often even being recognized for who they are brings discrimination and abuse, making participation in democracy that much harder. The forum raised up how queer and trans people, especially queer and trans people of color, are disproportionately impacted by money in politics and voting rights issues and how we can take action individually and collectively to bring about change.
The panel featured inspiring rap music from Jae “The Lyoness,” and a panel moderated by Jasmine Gomez (Free Speech For People) with Emmelia Talarico (No Justice No Pride), Lourdes Ashley Hunter (Trans Women of Color Collective), Shayla Schlossenberg (HIP), Candace Bond-Theriault (National LGBTQ Task Force) and Chris Melody Fields (ReThink Media).
As Chris (ReThink Media) explained during the panel, Shelby v. Holder gutted the Voting Rights Act and allowed states to write their own voter ID laws without any oversight, opening up the floodgates to racially and politically motivated provisions to make it harder for certain people to vote. Emmelia (No Justice No Pride) shared how these state voter ID laws make voting inaccessible to queer and trans individuals, in particular in instances where people “show up with IDs that do not even look like them” despite being the official ID given to them by the state.
Jasmine (Free Speech For People) explained how money in politics impacts representation at all levels of government because “politicians tend to represent the interest of those who funded them” and these funders are not the middle class, everyday people, or queer or trans folks to color. Lourdes (Trans Women of Color Collective) went on to further explain that often, “conversations about money in politics is not even at the forefront of [queer and trans individuals’] existence” because queer and trans individuals focus first on other immediate needs including personal safety, job security and housing.
This panel was a start to an important, continuing conversation about how money in politics and voting rights disproportionately impacts queer and trans communities as well as a discussion of strategies and solutions to increase political equality.
As Chris noted “we often do not talk about [voting rights] in an intersectional way… through the lens of queer and trans people. It is so important to have these conversations… and remind [ourselves] of what it truly means to be a sister in the movement.”
The event was co-sponsored by the Democracy Initiative, No Justice No Pride, HIPS, Free Speech For People, Demos, Public Citizen, Communications Workers of America, Pride at Work, and Every Voice.
