In a series of unpublicized revisions last month, the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics has removed all references to gender or gender identity from at least four federal surveys, The Appeal has confirmed. Experts say these changes will make it nearly impossible to monitor crimes and other forms of violence experienced by trans people.
Federal data on trans people is critical because surveys on minority groups require large sample sizes to be accurate. The four newly modified surveys sample hundreds of thousands of respondents each year. Private organizations don’t have the resources to collect data at that scale.
“The removal of sexual orientation and gender identity questions from federal surveys is devastating to our understanding of LGBT populations’ health and wellbeing,” Ilan Meyer, senior scholar for public policy and sexual orientation law at the Williams Institute of UCLA, told The Appeal via email. “Such data is important for setting policy goals for interventions. The removal of sexual orientation and gender identity data will leave policymakers, researchers, and advocates with no valid information on the victimization of LGBT people.”
The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment
I think that’s up for debate. There are people who don’t want government involved in their daily lives. These - livable wage and such - are nice things to have but aren’t the core responsibility of any and all governments. I don’t think “manages society” is the right phrasing either. And FWIW, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is not in the US constitution so there is no legal requirement for the US government to provide this. The DoI also said all men are created equal then they went on to say black men are worth less than white men.
I think a responsible representative government would weigh the realities of contemporary society and make adjustments to adjust for injustices and inequalities. They may also take larger things into consideration such as why a business determines to operate in one country or another and offer subsidies that promote job creation (rather than inflationary tariffs). I mean, there’s a lot and I don’t want to get into everything here.
My point is, what’s the role of not just the US government, not just a federal or national government, but any and all government - other than “to govern”? I would argue it’s preventative harm reduction.
When the first version of government was created, was it to make the daily lives of people better or was it to provide protection for those who couldn’t protect themselves? Not rhetorical. We all need to agree that point 1 is XYZ. Then we can get one with discussing things like livable wage, social security, health care, education, etc. Actually, on paper, I think the concept of the US is fantastic. A core government that covers broad universal functions while each regional division can focus on its own. The issue from here is that state boundaries are, for all intents and purposes, irrelevant today.
My other point, to bring it back to this story, is the the role of government should not be to pretend groups of people do not exist, hide them in the shadows, and ignore the atrocities others are inflicting upon them - our be the one committing those atrocities. So, if we start there with a solid idealogical foundation, we can more easily observe said atrocities and hold elected officials accountable. Universally, outside of party affiliation.
Then, once a foundation is agreed upon without any argument, we can move on to things that have nuance and are worthy of debating details and directions.
I just don’t think we’ve reached step one yet. Perhaps because a lot of people are very, and rightfully, concerned about steps two through a million.