On January 17, the NJHN Board of Directors voted to sign on to the following Statement Affirming Commitment to Protecting LGBTQ+ Rights which was also signed by 16 national organizations and other affiliated groups and individuals.
As the 119th Congress and state legislative sessions begin across the nation—and the incoming Trump-Vance Administration prepares to take office on January 20—the extreme White Christian Nationalist movement and their politician enablers have made it clear that LGBTQ+ Americans, particularly trans people, will be singled out for discrimination, exclusion, and attacks in 2025. Indeed, this dangerous movement has made anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies a cornerstone of their agenda.
As organizations and individuals committed to protecting the separation of government and religion, as well as universal human and civil rights threatened by the White Christian Nationalist ideology, the undersigned reaffirm our commitment to forcefully advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, create inclusive and welcoming communities, represent the interests of our diverse members, and act in accordance with our values.
We will not permit religious extremists to foment a moral panic, encourage harassment or violence, and enact dangerous policies that seek to force LGBTQ+ Americans generally—and trans Americans in particular—out of public life and out of existence. Nor will we sit silently or ignore when the talking points, misinformation, and outright fabrications of anti-LGBTQ+ extremists are laundered and given a veneer of legitimacy or acceptability by those who hold themselves out as voices of reason or science.
In just the past year, we have seen book bans forcing libraries and schools to remove materials that even mention LGBTQ+ characters; bathroom bans and “bounty” laws that threaten harassing lawsuits or even criminal prosecution against trans Americans simply for using the restroom; religious refusal laws allowing medical providers to deny treatment; outright bans on a range of medical care for gender dysphoria, substituting the judgement of state governments for that of patients, parents, and physicians; and even investigations threatening to remove trans and gender non-conforming children from their families. More of the same is coming in 2025.
For the more than 1.5 million trans Americans, this is the reality they are forced to live every day. It is not merely some academic debate.
These unworkable, ill-conceived, and plainly discriminatory laws and policies are about one thing: forcing a regressive, largely religious view of gender norms onto the American people. They are “solutions” in search of a problem that simply doesn’t exist. Instead, the extremists advocating for these actions intend to send a clear message that trans Americans are not worthy of dignity or respect—and their cruel and dehumanizing rhetoric only confirms that intention. We cannot and will not ignore such bigotry, no matter its source.
Instead, we stand with our trans community members. We will continue to advocate for policies that protect the civil and human rights of every community that comes under threat from the White Christian Nationalist ideology. And we will ensure that the inherent dignity and worth of all people is respected within our community and beyond.
New Jersey Humanist Network
For more info on this Joint Statement, visit the American Humanist Association’s press release and American Atheists’ press release.
Published 1/25/25