Some Yukoners are rethinking their travel plans when it comes to visiting the United States.
Recently, the Canadian government updated a travel advisory for the U.S, warning the LGBTQ2S+ community that some state laws criminalize same-sex activities and relationships, or target people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
For example, the state of Florida recently passed the “bathroom law”, which could subject transgender people to criminal penalties for refusing to leave a public bathroom if asked.
Storri Chesson is a school librarian in Whitehorse; she is a transgender woman who transitioned just over a year ago.
On a return flight from visiting her family in England, she found herself on a layover in Florida.
“As a woman in Florida,” she began to tell CBC News, “I would be expected to use the men’s washroom. So that made me worry quite a bit. Like, I could literally be arrested for peeing in Florida.”
She said she was thinking of changing her flight to avoid Florida because of the newly-passed law. but decided to stick to the plan.
Then, of course, she had to use the washroom.
“I had to make a choice,” Chesson said. “Do I use the men’s washroom, or the women’s washroom? One I could be beat up. I could be harassed. The other I could be arrested.”
Chesson said that she had to stay true to herself and she decided to use the women’s washroom — without incident.
However, she added that this experience has made her want to avoid travelling to the United States for awhile.
“We like to think of it as one place but it’s actually 50 different places or more,” she said. “I’ve travelled to the States plenty and most people are live-and-let-live but there is now this climate of it’s acceptable to hate trans people so when you create that climate it just makes it more dangerous for everyone.”
Travel advisory is ‘appropriate advice,’ says MP
Yukon’s MP Brendan Hanley said this is a pre-existing travel advisory that has been update to reflect many state-level laws that show the “unfortunate deterioration” of human rights for the LGBTQ2S+ community in some regions of the United States.
“We need to ensure that the appropriate advice is given,” he told CBC News.
He urges anyone who decides to travel into the U.S. to look before you book tickets.
“Just do that research,” he said. “Think through any potential consequences for visiting those areas.”
“We need to reflect with great concern over what’s happening with these deteriorating laws and regressive laws at state-level, and we need to ensure that we’re doing our best to ensure that in Canada we don’t go down that pathway and we continue to build on democracy and protection for LGBTQ individuals.”
‘The way they want to see me, not the way I feel’
Jolene “Queen” Sloan is a well-known drag queen from Whitehorse who now calls Vancouver home.
She said the travel advisory raises some concerns for her as well.
“I want to perform in the U.S. because that’s where the most dominating drag scene is,” she said. “When laws like these are in place then I have to go present myself at the airport in those states the way they want to see me, not the way I feel.”
She said she is proud to be who she is and will continue to show how joyful it can be to celebrate one’s identity. She said if the opportunity ever came up where she could perform in the U.S., she would.
“I’ve been often referred to as a Punjabi pioneer,” she said. “That’s where my place comes in, where I like taking these risks. I have done bigger risks in my life, when I came from India and dealt with things there being queer.”
“Drag gives me that platform to travel and really help bring in that change in the community so given the opportunity I am definitely going to travel.”
Source : CBC
