Families Moving Out Of Anti-LGBTQ States

[47of74]

Welcome to the consequences of your actions, Louisiana.  One of the very few pediatric cardiologists is moving from Louisiana to New York because of all the anti-LGBTQ bull shit flying around in Louisiana.

Quote

When Jake Kleinmahon and his husband, Tom, decided to move back to New Orleans in 2018, they had plans to live there forever.

“At the time there was only one heart transplant doctor in the state of Louisiana,” he said, adding some children who needed heart transplants had to be transferred out of state. “I believe the kids in Louisiana should have the same world class health care as any other part of the United States.”

He accepted a job at a local children’s hospital as director of the pediatric heart transplant program.

Kleinmahon said he worries his departure will leave a void in the Louisiana healthcare system. There are now only two pediatric cardiologists who manage heart transplants in the state, and they will be expected to serve the same number of patients, he said.

Of course some of the conservative dumb shits in Louisiana are defending this and broadcasting their hate towards Kleinmahon.  The hate mail only served to strengthen his resolve to get away from Branch Trumpvidians.

And it's not just Lousiana but a number of other states such as Missouri.  When the company I worked for closed down our local office in 2020, I politely told them to stick their offer to relocate me to Missouri where the sun did not shine.  And I got out of Iowa as soon as I could because of the anti-LGBTQ bullshit flying around there.  I sure as fuck wouldn't go back to Iowa until the anti-LGBTQ bullshit and Branch Trumpvidianism freely flying around now are gone for at least half a decade. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

This just makes me sad. Because it’s like the poorer states seem to be the ones who are anti abortion, anti LGBTQ+, and pro-MAGA in general. Which just means these states just get worse and worse and worse with very little hope of them getting better. I just hate to think of the 50 states becoming more and more like little countries with nothing in common with many of the other states. I understand leaving. I don’t blame people for leaving. But it’s just going to get worse. 

[Caroline]

18 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

This just makes me sad. Because it’s like the poorer states seem to be the ones who are anti abortion, anti LGBTQ+, and pro-MAGA in general. Which just means these states just get worse and worse and worse with very little hope of them getting better. I just hate to think of the 50 states becoming more and more like little countries with nothing in common with many of the other states. I understand leaving. I don’t blame people for leaving. But it’s just going to get worse. 

This is so true. My sister who is gay and her wife won't travel to any southern state or to where there is an obvious prejudice against their lifestyle. My husband and I won't spend a dime of our hard-earned money in any of these states with Florida and Texas at the top of the list.  It's sad to feel this way about our own country and all of the cool things each state has to offer, but there are many other places in the world and in the US that are just as interesting and much more accepting. It is sad that we have come to this thanks to fools like Ron DeSantis and many others.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Caroline

[47of74]

34 minutes ago, Caroline said:

This is so true. My sister who is gay and her wife won't travel to any southern state or to where there is an obvious prejudice against their lifestyle. My husband and I won't spend a dime of our hard-earned money in any of these states with Florida and Texas at the top of the list.  It's sad to feel this way about our own country and all of the cool things each state has to offer, but there are many other places in the world and in the US that are just as interesting and much more accepting. It is sad that we have come to this thanks to fools like Ron DeSantis and many others.

If it wasn't for the majority of my family living in Iowa I sure as hell wouldn't go down to visit and spend money in Iowa.  And I say that as someone who lived there almost 47 years before moving.  I just couldn't any more with the Branch Trumpvidian Kim Reynolds being Governor.  And especially now with a shit for brains BT attorney general who is more interested in culture wars than doing right by all Iowans.

48 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I just hate to think of the 50 states becoming more and more like little countries with nothing in common with many of the other states. I understand leaving. I don’t blame people for leaving. But it’s just going to get worse. 

I hope it does not happen and the red states pull their heads out of their asses, but the way things are going I could easily see the US splitting into more than a few different countries.  Or if they're bordering Canada try to join them.  I remember the meme that had a map of what was the US which had sane parts of the US as part of the Canada and the insane red parts as Jesusland ™/®/©/etc

[Pandora Spocks]

I wouldn’t mind becoming part of the Commonwealth of Canada. They have good chocolate there.

But in all seriousness, it is heartbreaking to see the fear that the Jesusland crowd invokes. We keep hoping it’s a vocal minority and as said above, we hope the citizens of the U.S. get their crap together and remember that we are all supposed to be human beings and not jackals.

Every election - state and national - that comes around is a tense time in our house because our youngest, who came out as trans early last year, is so fearful that people like 45 will be elected and incite people to harm her. As a mom and a realist, I can’t give her the reassurance that it won’t happen. Thankfully we live next to Minnesota where the citizens get to have nice things, so if we had to, I wouldn’t think twice about crossing the border and not coming back.

I hate that this is a real conversation we have to have. Even 10 years ago I would have thought I had gone insane to think such things. We live in a very red area where some of the locals aren’t afraid to fly the confederate flag and I could easily see them doing horrible things. The pendulum has to swing back, right? This can’t be what we come to. Human decency has to prevail. Right??

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think most people do this on a smaller scale. Meaning they move to more progressive cities in a conservative state. I know this can still be problematic when their are state issues. But there’s a reason why Austin Texas is a more liberal city in a huge conservative state. Because an entire state can’t be red. So the few liberals in the state tend to stick together. You can see this happening in many states around the country. Large cities will be the blue dots in a red state. Which can make the state rather purple. I live in a more progressive neighborhood and I would not move back to my hometown. Not just because it’s trump country. But that is part of it. 

[bea]

I'm watching the way things are falling apart for people in the red states, and I think it's only going to get worse.  Why would someone teach in a state that will fire you if you say "gay?"  Or a state where you can't teach actual history because it might hurt the feelings of white kids? Or a state where you're at risk of being arrested for providing needed and appropriate medical care because some people in the state legislature have decided that their personal religious belief means nobody can have access to it?  Why would you live in a state where the government gets to decide how many kids you have, who you can sleep with, the medical care you and your family receive, etc? 

Pardon the wall of text, but this is what I am seeing.
People aren't going to move to these states, and the people that live there who have other options will leave. 
My friends in Nashville - two public school teachers - have a trans son.  They've put their house on the market and are looking for jobs in blue states.
I know a couple who were born and raised in Texas who had a house they loved and a happy life together, lived close to family and friends, but they're both women and they don't feel they're safe.  So they left everything behind (jobs, house, family, community) behind to start a new life from scratch in a blue state because Texas forced them out.
The anti-trans laws in Indiana caused the only pediatric endocrinology department at a major hospital to close, in one town. The hospital felt they couldn't risk being shut down by the state for offering medical care.  My friend who has a type one diabetic son is scrambling to find a new doctor for him.
My cousin's girlfriend has a trans daughter and will not drive through red states, because if something happens and there's a problem, her daughter would not get appropriate care.
Kids and parents are taking colleges and universities in red states off their lists of potential schools.  And the kind-of-opposite thing is happening in red states, where some parents are doing what they can to send their kids to blue states for college.

On the one hand, I'm sure the politicians in those states would chortle and say "well we didn't want you people with your lib-rull values here anyway!" But it's going to damage these states SO BADLY.  They have the worst education systems, the ighest maternal mortality rates, the lowest income levels, and frankly the largest number of people who need things like good medical care and education.  But these bonkers politicians are creating this system where their states will get poorer and poorer and the people in them left with less and less resources.  Hospitals are closing, businesses are leaving, enrollment in colleges is falling and programs are closing, and the professionals are leaving. 

It's just so, so sad and frustrating. Anybody with an ounce of sense can see what's coming for the red states.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I’m personally staying in my state and voting for change. I can understand leaving though. I’m straight. I’m cis. I’m white. So the biggest thing that would impact me is taking away abortion rights. And my husband had a vasectomy so hopefully I won’t even need abortion access myself. Basically I’m saying it’s easier for me to stay than people in more marginalized groups. So it’s not like I’m being a big brave hero by staying. I know I’m privileged.

[clueliss]

The local school district lost a school board member because the family decided to move out of the state of Missouri.

At times I contemplate doing the same.  But I don't know where I want to live and sometimes the thought of starting over in a new job overwhelms me.. if anyone not in the restrictive everything zone needs a cost accountant,, give a girl a yell.

[CTRLZero]

We know a few right-wingers who have moved from our state and other west coast states to Idaho.  Really, “moving to Idaho” has become code for owning us libs and circling the wagons in a state with restrictive conservative values.  There is a trend of those folks crossing back into Washington state for various medical procedures, though, because maternal health care is restricted, health care workers are exiting making medical care scarce, etc.  I’ve mentioned this trend before, but it’s quite the phenomenon.

We personally won’t travel to Florida, and if we didn’t have a Nashville connection, we’d probably steer clear of that southern block of states entirely.  Weird times. 

[47of74]

Something I just though of was with Jimmy Buffet's passing was I had a good friend who loved New Orleans. He was in heaven when the company we worked for had him work on a project where he worked down there but flew back to Iowa for weekends.  It unfortunately led to the breakup of his marriage but then he found a very nice lady (who is still a good friend of mine).  The two were planning on relocating to New Orleans and just living there full time.  Tragically he died just a few days before he could take the final steps to fulfill his wish.

Part of me does wonder now if he would've been able to keep going in New Orleans given what the state's Branch Trumpvidian government is doing.  I think he would've moved if that was something he had to do to support his children even though it totally would've broken his heart. 

And that's another fornicate you I have for Republicans.  How they force people to leave dream locations/jobs/etc because of their Reich wing bullshit.

[Audrey2]

For those who want to own the libs and move to Idaho where they can be in the majority politically- goodbye! Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you! No trade backs!

[Jasmar]

5 hours ago, CTRLZero said:

We know a few right-wingers who have moved from our state and other west coast states to Idaho.  Really, “moving to Idaho” has become code for owning us libs and circling the wagons in a state with restrictive conservative values.

Ugh, my ex-inlaws did this a few years ago. They moved from the medium-sized southern Oregon town my ex grew up in, which was infamous when we were teenagers for racist chants being hurled at a Portland high school basketball team who came to play their school. I remember hearing about that in the news up here (in portland) and being utterly shocked that not only did so many people down there share those beliefs, they were perfectly happy to be out loud and all over the news for it. 

So yeah, ex-inlaws moved to Idaho because one of the most racist parts of the only(?) state in the Union to have white supremacy written into the state constitution just wasn’t conservative enough for them. Same assholes who pretend my gay kid doesn’t exist, while including my other two in all the holiday cards. Their loss. Good riddance.

[47of74]

8 minutes ago, Jasmar said:

Ugh, my ex-inlaws did this a few years ago. They moved from the medium-sized southern Oregon town my ex grew up in, which was infamous when we were teenagers for racist chants being hurled at a Portland high school basketball team who came to play their school. I remember hearing about that in the news up here (in portland) and being utterly shocked that not only did so many people down there share those beliefs, they were perfectly happy to be out loud and all over the news for it. 

So yeah, ex-inlaws moved to Idaho because one of the most racist parts of the only(?) state in the Union to have white supremacy written into the state constitution just wasn’t conservative enough for them. Same assholes who pretend my gay kid doesn’t exist, while including my other two in all the holiday cards. Their loss. Good riddance.

As I think you all know, I grew up in Dubuque, Iowa.  Dubuque was once notorious for once being a sundown time.  Despite the attempts of the city to get away from that and make the city welcome to diverse groups of all types (religious, sexual, racial, and so on) there's be an ongoing effort by Kluxers, homophobes, Branch Trumpvidians, and other dipshits to turn Dubuque back into a sundown town not only for Afro-Americans but for everyone they don't like.  And they certainly do everything they can to keep Covid Kim and her Branch Trumpvidian government going and make the town into Kluxerville.

The high school I went to was better about being accepting of people but the other high school while I was there was very supportive (and as far as I am concerned until they show me some fucking proof still supportive) of Kluxers in the late 80s and early 90s  My nieces won't be going there based on their current residence but if they were Uncle 47 would be demanding from now until the day they first attended some goddamn proof first.

I myself have dealt with some very hateful and potentially violent Branch Trumpvidians.  During the 2016 election I was out of town but I told my family after fuck face stole the election if any of his fuck sticks showed up to call the cops and maybe it'd be a good idea to be arm themselves.  Something I also cc'd to sheriff deputies in case any BTs got stupid ideas. 

So with me if any kluxers movied to some Kluxerville in Idaho I'd be like good.  Move there and never pollute Iowa with their bullshit again.  And be ready for lots of calling out of their bullshit if they sent any back in our general direction ever again.  Maybe if all the BTs and Kluxers moved to Idaho we could just isolate them and keep them from hurting the majority of this country.

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

Honestly, I don't know where is safe from this insanity. I went to a very liberal arts 4 yr college with a dear friend at the time who is a person of color. She went on to get an advanced degree and is a smart accepting person on the surface. And yet she's gone down the rabbit hole and been indoctrinated. She was sending me some thinly veiled white supremacist website so I could "get educated" to the...I dunno...communists? woke agenda? I have no idea what she sees in it. I decided to not talk to her about it to try to understand how she went crazy. How do you screen out the crazies now?

[Dandruff]

On 9/5/2023 at 3:11 PM, bea said:

On the one hand, I'm sure the politicians in those states would chortle and say "well we didn't want you people with your lib-rull values here anyway!" But it's going to damage these states SO BADLY.  They have the worst education systems, the ighest maternal mortality rates, the lowest income levels, and frankly the largest number of people who need things like good medical care and education.  But these bonkers politicians are creating this system where their states will get poorer and poorer and the people in them left with less and less resources.  Hospitals are closing, businesses are leaving, enrollment in colleges is falling and programs are closing, and the professionals are leaving. 

It's just so, so sad and frustrating. Anybody with an ounce of sense can see what's coming for the red states.

Voters gave the bonkers politicians the right to create their messes.  Afaic, they can live with the consequences if/when they end up with a crippled tax base, educational system, and healthcare system.  The situation seems very unfair for those who feel forced to leave, though.

If things eventually get very bad in those states they can decide to make changes...or not.

[bea]

20 hours ago, Dandruff said:

Voters gave the bonkers politicians the right to create their messes.  Afaic, they can live with the consequences if/when they end up with a crippled tax base, educational system, and healthcare system.  The situation seems very unfair for those who feel forced to leave, though.

If things eventually get very bad in those states they can decide to make changes...or not.

In many of these states, no matter how many people vote Democrat, the Republicans have drawn the maps around their "base" in weird ways that mean any voters who don't vote straight Republican ticket don't actually matter.  There's a huge number of voters in South Carolina, for example, who have been systematically discriminated against with maps but who voted so overwhelmingly for Biden in their primary that it sent him to the top of the candidate pool.  The states like Ohio and Wisconsin and Kentucky that are "red" in theory have all had to practically dismantle their governments and shift power around to stay Republican - legislature has the power if it's Republican and the Governor is a Democrat, but then if the incoming legislature is Democrat and the Governor is a Republican, now the Governor gets to make the rules, and if both are Democrat now it's impossible to get anything done because the Republican legislature members won't even show up to work.  The Wisconsin GOP is planning on impeaching an incoming judge.....because she won the statewide election and she's a Democrat. She hasn't even RULED on anything, but they've consolidated enough power that they feel comfortable overriding a state election.

When you have one party that intends to stay in power permanently at all costs, it stops being about "voters" and starts being about "how can we rewrite the rules."  Look at the fact that the last three Republican presidents resoundingly lost the popular election.  Republicans KNOW that their policies are incredibly unpopular.  There's all of these articles about Republicans who are non-MAGA being forced out of the local parties, until the only people that remain are the corrupt and the crazy.  And they know very well that people will vote against that, so they have to try to either keep Democrats from voting or change the rules so that they can't lose. Ever.

[Cheetah]

Somehow I started seeing reddit posts from a sub called Same Grass but Greener (Reddit will show you posts from groups they think you'll like based on other groups you read).  The posts in this sub are all people who want to move to somewhere else in the US with certain features.  Most of the posts are looking for liberal cities or smaller towns with good weather (definition of that varies with some folks hating hot vs others hating cold), affordable housing, pretty outdoor environment, near a major airport.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who has thought that a large bunch of people like this should band together and move to a red or purple state to start turning it more blue.  

On a slightly different note, I have a kid living in Idaho at the moment.  She's there for grad school and it definitely wasn't her top choice of where to go but she had to go where she got accepted.  I'm not super worried about her living there - she's only got a year to go and has a good bunch of friends who don't talk about politics.  But it makes me sad that the state is so horrible politically because it's beautiful and would actually appeal to a lot of people who are looking for a place with affordable housing and a beautiful outdoor environment if it weren't for the politics. 

[clueliss]

@bea excellent point.  They managed to split the evil liberal mid Missouri county I live in in half to prevent any sort of swing in one of the US House districts.  So Columbia MO is covered by two districts not one.  
 

Then there is the entire stupidity that the dolts in Kansas did to Wyandotte County (urban Kansas City Kansas) and split a very urban chunk of the small county off into a very rural district.  And Lawrence Kansas has been the victim of congressional district splits to prevent liberal swing for decades.  Meaning the swing the Kansas third congressional district took to blue has little to do with liberal areas of the state and more to do with the continued lurch to the right the Republicans have taken that traditionally old school Johnson County (suburban KC) despises.