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| If Gov. Kristi Noem actually cared about depression and anxiety in LGBTQ youth, she wouldn't have signed a bill harming LGBTQ youth. |
What's worse than a bigoted person? A dense bigoted person. I give you Exhibit A - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem:
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), who just signed the first anti-trans bill of 2022 into law, is asked why she thinks 90% of LGBTQ+ youth in South Dakota are diagnosed with anxiety or depression:
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) February 17, 2022
“I don’t know. That makes me sad, and we should figure it out.” pic.twitter.com/WbKr2Tlujs
First of all, forgive me if I come across as petty but Gov Noem seem sad in the above video. Not even a little bit. But if she truly wants to "figure it out," I suggest she look in the mirror. Actions like signing that awful bill - which is based on nothing more than lies and fear - is a leading cause of anxiety and depression in LGBTQ youth.
According to a study released in January:
More than two-thirds of LGBTQ+ youth say recent efforts by states to limit the rights of transgender and nonbinary people have negatively impacted their mental health, according to a poll released . . . by the Trevor Project.. . .In the Trevor Project’s survey of 820 LGBTQ+ youth aged 13 to 24 years old, 70 percent said they were closely following recent news about issues impacting the transgender community, and two-thirds of LGBTQ+ youth said debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health. That impact has been more dramatic among transgender and nonbinary youth, with more than 85 percent of that group reporting that their mental health has taken a hit, according to the survey."These results underscore how recent politics and ongoing crises facing the globe can have a real, negative impact on LGBTQ young people, a group consistently found to be at significantly increased risk for depression, anxiety and attempting suicide because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society," Amit Paley, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a statement.
The fact that Noem doesn't know this - or pretends not to know this - underscores just how warped the conversation about anti-trans legislation has been. While folks like her go on and on about supposedly 'protecting kids.' they haven't been held accountable to the reality that its their legislation which is doing the actual harm.
Isn't it way past time to make these folks address that fact?
