GOP lawmaker threatens to strip agency’s funding because it acknowledged LGBTQ+ history

Republican lawmakers in Alabama are seeking revenge against a state agency simply because it acknowledged the historical contributions of LGBTQ+ people.

State Sen. Chris Elliot (R) announced plans to introduce legislation cutting $5 million of funding from the Alabama Department of Archives and History after it hosted a lecture about the LGBTQ+ history of Alabama called “Invisible No More: Alabama’s LGBTQ+ History.”

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The Alabama AG argued that gender-affirming treatments are not “deeply rooted in this nation’s history and tradition.”

The revenge bill comes after about 10 Republican lawmakers reportedly asked the department to cancel the event to no avail.

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Elliot did not try to hide that the proposed funding cut is a direct response. In fact, he wants to make sure everyone knows it.

“Make no mistake about, it is to send a message to the Archives and History Department, and to other bureaucracies throughout the state, that we don’t believe this is a topic appropriate for the Alabama Department of Archives and History,” he said, according to the Associated Press.

Elliot said he believes “there are all kinds of other places to discuss those issues” and that he doesn’t have to see the lecture to know it is not appropriate since “the underlying differentiating factor is sex.”

Moreover, the talk was part of a lecture series that barely uses public funding, other than a stipend to the presenter paid through a federal grant from the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

“The Archives respects the authority and responsibility of the Legislature to appropriate funds as you see fit,” wrote the Department of Archives and History director Steve Murray in a letter to legislators. “We hope you will make an informed decision based on familiarity with the June 15 program and awareness of our agency’s commitment to integrity and service in the promotion of evidence-based history.”

The Movement Advancement Project has given Alabama an extremely low rating for its LGBTQ+ policies. Among many other anti-LGBTQ+ policies, the state lacks nondiscrimination laws in areas like housing, employment, education, and public accommodations. It has religious freedom laws in place that allow people to discriminate on the basis of faith, and it recently passed a “Don’t Say Gay” law banning teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues in schools.

The state has also passed a gender-affirming care ban for trans youth.  Signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) last year, the law makes it a felony to provide gender-affirming medication to people under 19.

It was the first law of its kind to level criminal penalties at doctors who provide gender-affirming care. Doctors face up to 10 years in prison under the law. A judge has issued a temporary injunction on the part of the law banning medication for trans youth, but the rest remains in effect.