Opinion: Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric Is Killing Our Kids

OPINION

Everywhere we look, we see assaults on the identity and health of LGBTQ+ children. Over 300 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced so far in 2022, according to the Human Rights Campaign. In response to teaching historical contributions of LGBTQ+ people in schools – a true representation of our nation’s rich history – anti-LGBTQ+ legislators and groups are attacking queer people and their allies, calling them “groomers” and even “pedophiles.” Cable programs regularly broadcast anti-trans messages into our living rooms. And a “Don’t Say Gay” bill has been introduced in the New Jersey Senate, importing ignorance from Florida to the Garden State.

As a father and as a leader of New Jersey’s LGBTQ+ community, we are deeply concerned for the safety and wellbeing of our nation’s LGBTQ+ youth. This growing anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination is a cynical attempt to grab power by dividing us and fostering fear and distrust of “the other.” But the anti-LGBTQ+ culture war has real-world consequences – including mental health impacts on America’s young people.

According to a 2022 national survey on mental health by the Trevor Project, 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year. This statistic should shock you, but given the social stigma and discrimination expressed at school, in legislatures, and on talk radio, we are sadly not surprised.

The same Trevor Project survey points to the answer for reducing suicide attempts by our nation’s LGBTQ+ youth: supporting them for who they are. LGBTQ+ youth who felt social support from their family or at school reported attempting suicide at significantly lower rates than those who did not feel supported. LGBTQ+ youth who lack support are also 120% more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience homelessness, often because their families have rejected them and cast them away. It shouldn’t take the death or destitution of young people to convince adults not to spread intolerance or attack children. But this is where we have found ourselves: pleading with parents and politicians who should know better than to scapegoat, alienate abuse, or abandon queer youth.

That’s why we worked together, a federal lawmaker and a community and non-profit leader, to establish a program through Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, to support LGBTQ+ people. With the help of federal funding, Garden State Equality is working with community partners to create programming to help LGBTQ+ youth heal from the trauma of being rejected and attacked and empower them to become leaders in their communities. By lifting up those who have previously lacked support, we hope to build LGBTQ+ leaders who are resilient and know they are appreciated and valued, create more welcoming communities, and push back against those who are trying to divide and alienate us from each other. Our nation’s LGBTQ+ youth deserve nothing less, and we can start right here by working together in New Jersey.

This Pride Month, we saw those who fear people that are different than themselves lash out with discriminatory and vulgar rhetoric. They fearmongered about parades that celebrate LGBTQ+ culture and history, and they used Pride to divide us instead of appreciating our diversity. We must not let them convince us that being different is the same thing as being bad, or that being LGBTQ+ means someone deserves to be shunned, discriminated against, or harassed.

Instead, we must start from a simple truth: kids are kids, and every child in the United States of America deserves our love, support, and care. We can and must do better for our LGBTQ+ youth. We’re doing that in New Jersey – and we hope that New Jersey’s parents, schools, and legislators will stand with us in rejecting intolerance and supporting the vulnerable and marginalized among us.

Donald Norcross represents New Jersey’s 1st district in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he is a member of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. Christian Fuscarino is the executive director of Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.