Pride Month has historically been a time to celebrate victories in queer rights, and while celebration is important, in the current legislative landscape featuring a litany of attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community, joy and celebration aren’t enough. Particularly with regard to allies, it feels more vitally important than ever that Pride include collective action in support of the queer community at the local level and beyond. The community, especially trans people in particular, have been targeted with violence and legislation that limits their rights, freedom, and safety in sport and in life.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, since the start of the year 2023, over 540 legislative bills have been introduced to state legislatures, a record for any single calendar year. Of these bills, over 220 specifically target transgender and non-binary people, also a record for any single calendar year. Additionally, in this year alone, a record 70 anti-LGBTQ laws have been put into effect. These laws include:
15 laws banning access to gender affirming care for transgender youth
7 laws that permit or outright require the misgendering of transgender youth in school
2 laws targeting drag performances
3 laws that create license to discriminate
2 laws permitting censorship in school curriculum and books available to students
Faced with this information, how can we get involved? The short answer: any way that we can. Many believe that the most impactful way is to get involved locally. Here are a few actions that we recommend:
Register for and participate in the local Run & Walk with Pride organized by the Seattle Frontrunners
the event occurred on June 24th this year, though it is an annual event and a great way to get involved in future years
Proceeds benefit Peer Seattle
Donate to or volunteer with a local queer organization
several chapters of PFLAG exist throughout Washington state
Email the local USATF Pacific Northwest Chapter to express your support for the addition of a Non-Binary category in local USATF sanctioned races
More info on Nonbinary inclusion in races available here
Lend your support to national efforts to support access to sports for all:
Get involved with Running Industry Diversity Collective (RIDC)
Take Action at Transathlete.com: https://www.transathlete.com/take-action
Sign petitions on AthleteAlly.org: https://www.athleteally.org/actions/
Write/Contact your Congressional and State Legislators
You can find your representatives in the state of WA here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/
Additionally, attempts to bar trans girls and women from athletic participation are frequently portrayed as efforts to “protect women’s sports.” Underlying this characterization is an attempt to hide the discriminatory intent and impact of such legislation. There currently exists a proposed update to Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs, to include protection based on gender identity. Cisgender women and men advocating for the inclusion of trans girls and women in women’s sports will be necessary, particularly as these discriminatory practices are specifically marketed as intended to protect cisgender athletic performances, though it is not openly stated as such by proponents of these bills.
It can be easy to view the current wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation as somebody else’s problem, but it should not be forgotten that the laws detailed above are not something in the periphery. They affect your teammates. They limit their ability to participate and compete in a sport we collectively gather weekly to train for as a team. They limit many of your teammates’ ability to exist and live freely as they are.
“Club Northwest members are competitive runners and race walkers—of all ages, abilities, races, and sizes—who are passionate about improving their times, improving their age-group place, and/or training to reach a specific athletic or personal goal. We are committed to providing a safe and inclusive space for all athletes and representing the wonderful diversity of the running community while doing our part to dismantle barriers to the sport of running.” Club Northwest Website: “About Club Northwest”
-Written by Rachel Leftwich and Steve Harris