'Rainbow Underground Railroad' helps LGBT Americans 'escape' red states
Good!
An organization called “Flee Red States” is helping LGBT people who live in Republican-dominated states find homes in “less hostile” states, and even in different countries.
Really.
Real estate broker Bob McCranie started the service in Texas. McCranie called it a “sad thing” to have to change the nature of his business from selling Texan homes to helping residents find housing elsewhere but said it was necessary because Texas legislation is “unsafe” for LGBT people.
McCranie told Austin local news outlet KXAN that he felt the need to expand the service because of demand from other states.
When you visit FleeRedStates.com, a message pops up displaying its mission: “As LGBTQIA+ citizens in Red States … many of us feel at risk. Current laws are highly discriminatory against trans youth and their families. Our marriages, our families, and even our safety are at risk. If you feel the need to leave the jurisdiction of a Red State, let us help you sell your property here and connect you with an LGBTQIA+ or ally agent in a better location of your choice. We are licensed in Texas, and we have affiliates in all 50 states and several counties.”
A policy LGBT Texans consider threatening is the bill Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed yesterday that would prohibit transgender women from competing in women’s college-level sports. The Texas Freedom Network, a liberal social justice organization, said Texas officials are “ignoring their duty to serve Texans and instead targeting a vulnerable minority, creating problems that do not exist, and using our taxpayer dollars to do so.”
This is all absurd. A bill that bans transgender women from performing in competitions meant for biological women is not targeting transgender people. Nor does it violate anybody’s safety. This bill intends to protect biological women. Even if there is no history of transgender people competing in college sports in Texas, it is still a worthy law.
A law can be necessary even without a local history of a repeated problem that the law intends to solve. Legislators can use national evidence and constitutional bases to pre-emptively guard the rights of their citizens. By analogy, even in an idyllic city, where stealing rarely happens, it still ought to be a crime to steal.
More at: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/rainbow-underground-railroad-helps-lgbt-americans-escape-red-states