GOP candidates elevate anti-transgender messaging as a rallying call to Christian conservatives

By JAMES POLLARD
Associated Press/Report for America

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Donald Trump has mocked transgender people during his campaign, using language about gender identity that LGBTQ+ advocates say is wrong and harmful. Other GOP presidential candidates have attacked transgender participation in athletics and proposed nationwide bans on affirming care for transgender minors. Political observers say the issue has become a more potent rally call for Christian conservatives than abortion rights or same-sex marriage. This shift worries advocates who note transgender people are already disproportionately prone to stress, depression and suicidal behavior when they’re forced to live as the sex they were assigned at birth. One former GOP operative wonders whether “Republicans might be overplaying their hand as a political matter.”