by Benjamin Yount
Wisconsin doesn’t currently have any openly trans lawmakers, but there is a new trans legislative caucus at the statehouse.
State Reps. Melissa Ratcliff, D-Cottage Grove, and Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, on Wednesday announced they are forming the Transgender Parent and Non-Binary Advocacy Caucus.
“In 2023 alone, there have been almost 600 anti-trans bills introduced in states across the country, including here in Wisconsin,” Ratcliff said in a statement. “Violence against transgender people is on the rise. The Transgender Parent and Non-Binary Advocacy Caucus will be a proactive, visible, and active coalition of legislators who share a common goal: to ensure Wisconsin’s trans and non-binary communities are seen, heard, and their rights respected and protected.”
Both Ratcliff (pictured above, left) and Clancy (pictured above, right) are parents of trans or non-binary kids.
““As parents of transgender children, we are uniquely positioned and aware of the challenges that our children and other transgender and non-binary children face in our communities. We have seen a trend of anti-trans legislation that [seeks] to invalidate their existence and tries to criminalize life-saving, gender affirming healthcare and we will not allow it in our state,” Clancy said.
The new caucus was announced on the same day that a pair of Republicans, Rep. Barb Dittrich, R-Oconomowoc, and Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, introduced legislation that would keep trans students out of girls’ sports in Wisconsin.
“Last month’s Marquette poll [said] 71% of Wisconsinites are in favor of laws requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their biological sex as assigned at birth,” Knodl said in a tweet. “This legislation reinforces Title IX and ensures that Wisconsin’s women athletes have equal opportunities.”
“We have formed this caucus to show our trans and non-binary community members that there are people in the Statehouse that see them, respect them, and will fight to protect them,” Clancy responded.
The new Transgender Parent and Non-Binary Advocacy Caucus is separate from Wisconsin’s Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus.
That group on Wednesday also bashed Knodl and Dittrich’s plan.
“We strongly condemn these bills, and any legislation that attacks LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin. Studies have shown that participating in youth sports can lead to lifelong, positive impacts on a child’s physical, mental, emotional, and social health,” the LGBTQ+ Caucus said in a statement of its own.
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Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Ryan Clancy” by Ryan Clancy. Photo “Melissa Ratcliff” by Melissa Ratcliff.
And unless Ratcliff lives under a rock there has been a huge increase in violence perpetrated by the Trans and LGBTQABCXYZ groups as well. Sane people don’t like these wackadoodle groups shoving their perverted agendas down everyone’s throats. Look for trouble, you will surely find it. People can be pushed just so far before they explode to push back. Keep you weirdness to yourself.