Assembly Bill 104 is a piece of legislature introduced to the state of Wisconsin that, if passed, will ban gender affirming treatment for those under 18 years of age. Many citizens are rightfully upset by this, especially since Wisconsin holds a republican majority in both the House and Senate, leading to a strong possibility that this bill may come to fruition.
This, unfortunately, would not be the only travesty as Milwaukee’s oldest gay bar “This Is It!”, co-owned by Wisconsin legend Trixie Mattel, closed its doors on March 9th through a post on Facebook.
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“Unfortunately, that celebration will not come to pass,” the post said. “The COVID crisis and the years following 2020, coupled with the 8 month closure of our street and sidewalk last year, put the business in a position that we could not ultimately overcome.”
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The bar opened in 1968 and was initially owned and operated by Catherine “June” Brehm and business partner Michael Latona. Milwaukee has a vibrant and booming LGBTQ+ scene, as documented by the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project. To lose such an important part of their history is devastating, to say the least.
Michail Takach, Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project chair states: “at a time when our history is literally being erased and/or rewritten, we are also rapidly losing the heritage sites that matter most — For the past decade, we’ve all been told repeatedly ‘we don’t need gay bars anymore; nobody cares if you’re gay anymore.’ As the outside world becomes more and more hostile, where will people go when these inside worlds no longer exist?”
In brighter news, a man who showed up to support AB. 104 had a change of heart after hearing from those in the transgender community opposed to the bill. In a video that has since gone viral, an elderly man named Larry recants his support of the bill and expresses his remorse for having once supported the bill.
“First of all, I’d like to apologize to you people, I was invited here to give my support for bill 104.” he stated. :I have very little knowledge of gay people, and things like that. So I came here, my eyes were open. I was one of the critics, that sat on the side and made the decision there was only two genders. So I got an education that was unbelievable. And, I don’t know exactly how to say this, but my perspective were people have changed. So I don’t want to take no more of your time. I’d like to apologize for being here and I learned a very lot about this group of people.”
As Larry got up to leave, others applauded him. This moment highlights how important it is to speak of our experiences and that your voice can and will reach someone. The reason the alt-right is trying to silence LGBTQ+ people is that once people realize we are not so different, they can no longer use us as a scapegoat to advance their agenda.
As a northern Midwesterner, my heart goes out to the LGBTQ+ people of Wisconsin, as well as the rest of the U.S., who are dealing with this war on our culture by those who have the audacity to claim they value freedom.
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