GREENSBORO, N.C. — In the first few days of Pride Month, the Human Rights Campaign “declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States”, the first-time occurrence since the organization’s inception.
“There is an effort to push us and scare us back into the closet, to erase, especially trans people’s identities from existence, we are seeing and feeling that increase a lot," said Jennifer Ruppe, the executive director of Guilford Green since 2018.
The HRC report provided a snapshot of 2023’s stark increase in state houses introducing anti-LGBTQ+ bills – currently sitting at more than 525.
“We’re lucky, Guilford County has a lot of LGBTQ resources, and as a region in North Carolina this is a very accepting area, but not everyone is accepting so we are seeing and feeling the hate come in in a way that we did it prior really to the pandemic," Ruppe said.
Austin Horne, the LGBTQ Outreach Specialist for Family Services of the Piedmont agrees.
"I know that the need is everywhere, and we are lucky to have a real concentration of resources and people ready to do the work here in Guilford, but I’ve really been lucky to see our people who are trying to help all over and they are doing their best," Horne declared
Still, the message of allyship and unity from Ruppe and Horne was all too clear.
"When you hear somebody say “Well, I don’t understand this thing,” speak up! Help, educate people, help connect people to resources, because if we are not together right now, then people are going to be harmed from all of this," said Ruppe.
“When it comes to human rights issues, I think it can be helpful to position it as a “we” because ultimately, as a community, and for us here in Guilford County, we all hold some collective responsibility... Whenever one person’s human rights are affected all of our rights are affected," said Horne.