The push to kill transgender people has definitely intensified over the past few years – and those of us that were told a few years ago that we were “over-reacting” to even speculate that this is where society is heading have tragically been vindicated (even though we had really hoped to have been proven wrong). See, for just one example, how Michael Knowles called for the “eradication of transgenderism” in a recent CPAC speech – and the applause that statement got.

But wait, you might say – he is being misunderstood! He meant that you just can’t be transgender in public, not that he wanted to kill or jail transgender people!

Maybe, maybe not. Why use the word “eradicate” instead of just saying “make it illegal”? Did everyone else clapping at that statement understand it that way as well? Doubtful.

I think he meant it just as it sounded to most of us.

But – I do realize that there are those on the Conservative side of things that really don’t want to kill or jail people – they think that transgender people will just magically vanish if states make it illegal. To them, being transgender is all about playing a political game, something people just decide to wake up one day and say “I’m going to come out as transgender to own my ultra-conservative Uncle!” They really think that lawmakers are going to pass laws to make it illegal, and the whole transgender community is going to shrug and say “well, it was fun while it lasted! Back to my sex assigned at birth.”

This, of course, proves that they really don’t have “lots of transgender friends” and that they haven’t “really studied this issue from all sides.” And it is also very dangerous in that, if this fantasy scenario does play out, people won’t just shrug at being told that it is illegal to be transgender, and society will still have to go to the next step of imprisoning and/or executing transgender people. Being transgender is not a choice, and it won’t go away just because a law makes it illegal.

So while Knowles and his allies are claiming they are not being authoritarian and Barbaric, their version of their beliefs (if they really, really believe that – and that is doubtful) still leads to the same place: criminalizing people for being transgender. They either don’t believe it is a real thing (and are clueless to Science and reality), or they don’t care that it is and just want to force their religious believes on everybody in a fascist manner. It was never about “protecting children.” Either way, this is a dark and dangerous time for a lot of people. Too many political leaders out to create a nationwide safe-space for their fragile political/religious beliefs.