Panelists: How will Indiana's anti-LGBTQ laws affect youth?

SOUTH BEND — Indiana's recently passed anti-LGBTQ laws have a lot in common with legislation passed in other red states.

"And that's not by accident," according to Steve Sanders, a law professor and associate dean at the IU Maurer School of Law in Bloomington.

Sanders was a panelist at Tuesday's Tribune forum, which featured a discussion of the laws and their effect on the local LGBTQ community. The forum was streamed on The Tribune's Facebook page.

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Sanders, who has participated in groundbreaking litigation concerning LGBTQ rights, referenced a New York Times article noting that the Supreme Court's 2015 decision declaring a constitutional right to same-sex marriage left social conservatives adrift, in search of an issue to rally the base. The article quotes the leader of an activist group who recalls throwing everything at the wall in search of a cause to galvanize supporters.

What stuck were issues related to transgender identity, particularly relating to young people. Sanders noted that the main criticism of these kinds of laws is that they're "not responding to any serious or real problem that's been identified in schools or medical care" and are intended to "scapegoat an unpopular minority."

Among the laws passed in Indiana is House Bill 1608, which requires a school to notify in writing at least one parent of a student of a request made by the student to change the student’s name or pronoun, title, or word to identify the student.

Panelist H.R. Jung, executive director of The LGBTQ Center in South Bend, which offers support programs for youth and adults, said, "My biggest concern is how do these (laws) impact the kids?"

He's particularly concerned about HB 1608. "There are a lot of kids in school who their first step in coming out, beyond their immediate friend base, is not family a lot of times … it will be schools, it will be a teacher that they know," he said.

Jung testified against the bill earlier this year and told legislators that if you have a "blanket policy" that if a kid confides in you, you must report it, "You don't know what you're sending that kid home to."

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Panelist Bill Anderson talked about his concerns for Black LGBTQ youth, given that "being gay, lesbian, transgender, queer is so taboo" in the Black community. "Our young people suffer greatly because, even within their own individual families, they're afraid to come and be who they want to be and fear the ridicule that comes with that," says Anderson, who is Black and a member of the LGBTQ community.

Panelist Pam Blair said that she tries not to focus on anti-LGBTQ legislation, even though she's aware of it, that she thinks doing so might inhibit her from doing the things that she wants to do. Being Black, being a woman and being a gay Black woman all mean she has to deal with certain things. But her message in coming out to friends was direct: "I'm still Pam, there's not another label you get to put on me. I'm still Pam, I'm still the artist, I'm still the friend, I'm still all of these things, instead of trying to separate me and put me in another box."

Hank Mascotte noted the importance of sharing stories, of having conversations like Tuesday's forum. Mascotte is one of the co-founders of the local chapter of PFLAG, a group that educates, supports and advocates for LGBTQ+ people and their families.

Mascotte recalled in the early days of the organization, it was just his wife and another woman, talking. A newspaper ad announcing that they would be discussing coming out at the next meeting drew 20 people — gay people, as well as family members and friends, all ready to share personal stories. "I think storytelling is so critical in this issue of educating people … absolutely critical," he said.

Email Tribune staff writer Alesia I. Redding at aredding@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Tribune forum addressed Indiana's anti-LGBTQ laws