Transgender Acceptance: News Miner 57

Scott Bottoms, Jon Caldara, and transgender people; housing; Epps; Republicans; swatting; and more.

Accepting Transgender People

I thought that Jon Caldara and I had “had it out” on transgender issues and we could move on. So why did I submit a new column on the topic to Complete Colorado, published by the Independence Institute, which Caldara runs?

For one thing, Caldara published another op-ed, first through the Gazette and then through Complete, basically saying that claims of transgender identities are lies. Also, a state legislator, Scott Bottoms, made some extremely bigoted and mean-spirited comments about transgender people, including in the Capitol.

I thought it was important to stand up against anti-trans bigotry. I also thought it was important to say something particularly in Complete, given Complete had (re)published Caldara’s column.

I do want to emphasize here that I appreciate Caldara accepting criticism on this issue. He seems strangely unable to “evolve” in his thinking on this issue, but at least he remains open to talking about why he might be wrong.

In my piece, I review some of what Bottoms has said on the matter, then I summarize:

So, those are your options, according to Bottoms. Every gay, lesbian, transgender, or other LGBTQ person you’ve ever met or heard of, including the governor of Colorado and a sitting state legislator, got that way because of mental illness, “grooming,” abuse, or Satan. In this view, there is simply no such thing as an authentic or psychologically (or spiritually) healthy LGBTQ person.

Then I address some of what Caldara is said. I write:

Caldara is right about some of the consequences. If you go to work and intentionally “misgender” and “deadname” your transgender coworker, you’re probably going to be fired. As you should be fired. Similarly, if you go to work and call your black coworker the “n-word,” your Jewish coworker the “k-word,” or your Muslim coworker a “raghead,” you’re going to be fired, and you should be fired. You don’t have the right to be a bigoted jerk to your coworkers.

The funny thing is that Caldara has said publicly that it’s perfectly fine to “cancel” people in certain contexts for being bigoted jerks. I guess he doesn’t remember saying this, but he and I did spend an hour discussing such issues on Caldara’s show. . . .

Here’s what I asked Caldara, starting at the 33:30 minute mark: “If you have Brianna Titone, who is a state representative, who is a transgender woman, into the Independence Institute to present some bill or whatever, and you have another guest who’s heckling her, and saying, ‘you’re a man . . . you’re delusional,’ or whatever, or ‘you’re a groomer,’ you better ask that person to leave.”

Caldara replied, “Of course I would ask that person to leave, because that would be inappropriate.” In other words, Caldara would “cancel” and shame the person and banish the person from the event. As he should!

I also briefly mention Carol Tavris’s critical take on transgender care for (some) minors, something I’ve discussed elsewhere. (Note: I have a soft spot in my heart for Tavris, because she coauthored a psychology textbook that I used in college and that I quite liked.)

Elsewhere, I Tweeted another comment specifically about trandgender women in women’s restrooms: “Republicans: ‘Criminals aren’t going to obey gun laws anyway, and those laws interfere with rights of peaceable people.’ Also Republicans: ‘We totally gotta ban transgender women from using women’s bathrooms because that will totally protect women from sexual predators.’”

Read my entire piece.

Image: Brianna Titone

Quick Takes

Housing: Democratic Socialist endorsed Rep. Javier Mabrey Tweeted, “Sitting in on the debate for HB 23-1255 to end arbitrary growth caps and hearing the very same members who argued against rent control ordinances by saying what we really needed to do was cut red tape and allow for more development now argue against the cutting of that red tape.” I replied, “This is the day when Javier Mabrey is more of a free-market libertarian than many Colorado Republicans.”

Housing II: Tobin Stone testified in favor of the land-use reform bill, saying we need to “build more housing now.” See also Andy Bosselman’s op-ed.

Housing III: 9News tried to paint Jared Polis as a hypocrite for invoking local control in some cases but not others. But, look, it’s perfectly reasonable to think local control is appropriate for some issues and not others.

Litigation: Ed Sealover reviews amendments to bill 172, which threatens more litigation against businesses for “harassment” as judged by lower standards. However, Sealover notes, a couple of amendments made the bill marginally less onerous.

As the World of Epps Turns: Rep. Elisabeth Epps says Colorado Sun columnist Mario Nicolais is a “toxic man,” as is Sun reporter Jesse Paul. She also had a testy exchange with Sun columnist Mike Littwin. Nicolais wrote a genuinely terrible column for the Sun, which Epps called “tone policing,” in which he blamed Epps for the failure of the “assault” gun ban (on sales and transfers), when the real reason is major Democrats, including Polis, didn’t want the political blowback. This comes on the heels of Sun columnist Trish Zornio repeatedly lambasting Epps. I really do not get this strange fight between this left-leaning publication and Epps.

Epps II: Elsewhere, Epps claims someone testifying in committee referred to her as a “baboon.” If that’s true—I haven’t seen any follow-up—that’s horrible.

Republicans: “Colorado Republican Chair Dave Williams today announced he’s selected Tom Bjorklund as the party’s new Treasurer. Bjorklund, a longtime political operative from Grand Junction, is an election fraud conspiracist who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection,” reports the Colorado Times-Recorder. That last point is probably inaccurate or at least an exaggeration; I’ve seen no evidence that Bjorklund used violence or entered the Capitol. Still, he has no proper business in party leadership.

Republicans II: Heidi Ganahl initially claimed that “the new principal at Arvada West High” School posted racy photos online. Then she noted it was actually the person’s partner. “Helluva correction,” notes Kyle Clark.

Libertarians: “Jessica Fenske, a Libertarian candidate for Arvada City Council,” podcasts about “COVID vaccine conspiracies” and other matters, Heidi Beedle reports. Sheesh.

Rocky Flats: Some people are still worried about radiation around the old Rocky Flats facility, as Heidi Beedle reports.

Racism: Someone in Colorado Springs wrote the “n-word” on a candidate’s sign and planted a burning cross.

Bats: Ah-oh: A bat in Colorado got white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungus.

Drugs: Jeff Kaufman argues in favor of overdose prevention centers.

Police: “Colorado Democrats OK bill to prevent police from lying to minors during interrogations,” Colorado Politics reports. Also, don’t talk to the police! Shut the F up!

Police II: Lisa Sweeney-Miran had some sort of dispute with the Boulder Police Oversight Panel, but I never chased down the details.

Swatting: Responding to an article, AG Phil Weiser Tweeted, “Those who engage in swatting—spreading dangerous threats that harm schools and other entities—need to be held accountable. It needs to be taken more seriously because, for those impacted, it can be terrorizing, dangerous, and even cause physical harm.”

Crime: Chris Vanderveen schooled George Brauchler on how to avoid dubious media claims, in this case pertaining to relative crime rates.

Immigration: “Longmont Armenian immigrant family worries flight mix-up could derail brother’s citizenship chances,” the Denver Post reports. U.S. immigration is so horribly messed up.

Doulas: I was curious about a note on Twitter about a bill pertaining to doulas for baby delivery. Basically, the bill wants medicaid support and a “doula scholarship program to provide financial support to eligible individuals to pursue doula training and certification.” I love the idea of more doulas; I’m nervous about the tax financing; nevertheless, paying for doulas might actually bring overall prices down and improve outcomes.

Education: The Denver Post decries the secrecy of various school boards, including Douglas County, Denver, Broomfield, and Woodland Park.

Loans: The Bell Policy Center wishes to further “protect” poor people from getting small loans at relatively high interest rates. Maybe . . . let those individuals make their own choices?