Republicans Did Not Start the Culture War over Transgenderism

The New York Times recently published a piece titled “How a Campaign Against Transgender Rights Mobilized Conservatives,” in which its authors paint conservatives as aggressors in the culture war over transgenderism. Really, opposition to transgenderism is a defensive movement. The political story is more about how a campaign for so-called transgender rights mobilized not only conservatives but also women’s-rights campaigners and moderates.

The authors, Adam Nagourney and Jeremy W. Peters, begin the story eight years ago when the Supreme Court declared a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage, they say, was an issue that conservatives “had used to galvanize rank-and-file supporters and big donors.” Its defeat at the court, therefore, “left them searching for a cause.”

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Madeleine Kearns

Madeleine Kearns is a former staff writer at National Review.

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The New York Times recently published a piece titled “How a Campaign Against Transgender Rights Mobilized Conservatives,” in which its authors paint conservatives as aggressors in the culture war over transgenderism. Really, opposition to transgenderism is a defensive movement. The political story is more about how a campaign for so-called transgender rights mobilized not only conservatives but also women’s-rights campaigners and moderates.

The authors, Adam Nagourney and Jeremy W. Peters, begin the story eight years ago when the Supreme Court declared a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage, they say, was an issue that conservatives “had used to galvanize rank-and-file supporters and big donors.” Its defeat at the court, therefore, “left them searching for a cause.”