The White House is giving LGBTQ youth a glimmer of hope despite the legislative attacks against them.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary, announced Thursday that the White House is setting up a hotline for LGBTQ Youth who have been affected by recent anti-trans laws that are being introduced and passed in states across the country.
“I know that these political attacks can really take a toll on people’s mental health. So I want to say directly to LGBTQI+ kids – you are loved just as you are, just the way you are. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you call 988,” Jean-Pierre said during last week’s White House press conference.
The hotline is run by counselors who have been specifically trained to support LGBTQ youth through crisis. She continued, “The National Crisis Hotline and dial the number ‘3’ to talk to a counselor who has been specifically trained to support LGBTQI+ kids. This is a new service that the Biden administration is proud to offer during these incredibly hard times for these trans kids.”
In addition, the White House released a new Title IX proposal that prohibits K-12 schools and colleges from enacting outright bans preventing transgender athletes from participating on teams that don’t align with their gender assigned at birth.
Jean-Pierre commended the students and faculty who were staging walk-outs to fight against their respective state’s “legislative bullying.”
Conversely, Jean-Pierre condemned states who were proposing and passing acts to ban trans youth gender-affirming care. “This is a dangerous a dangerous attack on the rights of parents to make the best health care decisions for their own kids,” Jean-Pierre said of the Indiana bill and others like it.
“I know that these political attacks can really take a toll on people’s mental health, so I want to say directly to LGBTQI+ kids you are loved just as you are, just the way you are,” Jean-Pierre continued. “LGBTQI+ kids are resilient, they are fierce, they fight back, they’re not going anywhere, and we have their back, this administration has their back.”
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