Statement Affirming LGBTQIA+ Rights

CTS is proud as an institution to support LGBTQIA+ individuals and affirm their right not only to exist but to thrive.

We have been dismayed and angered by the recent spate of bills currently being debated in several state legislatures which criminalize people for being true to who they are. We are particularly appalled by the horrendous “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida, which would make it a crime to discuss LGBTQIA+ issues in schools (thus ensuring that both teachers and students would have to deny who they are and contributing to queer erasure); and the equally insidious executive order from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, directing that state’s child welfare agency to consider parents and medical providers who assist trans children child abusers.

These attempts to erase and criminalize LGBTQIA+ individuals, and the people who love and medically treat them, in order to score cheap political points will not go unanswered. CTS stands with LGBTQIA+ people all across the United States, particularly in Florida and Texas, in condemning these extremist actions.

This fight is not over, and we believe it is a fight we will ultimately win – because love always shines brighter than hate.