But this past spring the Republican-led state legislature passed a series of controversial bills that targeted the LGBTQ community.

That’s when Kleinmahon said he started having difficult conversations with his family about leaving the home they love. When he explained to his six-year-old daughter that their family had no choice but to leave New Orleans, she said, “We do have a choice, just one of them isn’t a good one.”

The Kleinmahons join other LGBTQ families who are also facing the same choice. They say they no longer feel safe or welcomed in states that have passed laws targeting their community. Many have made the difficult decision to leave.

In 2023, more than 525 anti-LGBTQ bills were passed in 41 states, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that advocates for the LGBTQ community. Of those bills, more than 220 explicitly targeted transgender people. As of June, 77 anti-LGBTQ bills had been signed into law.

  • ilfi@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Why the hell does Louisiana only have one pediatric cardiologist?

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Because it’s a for-profit healthcare system and that’s not where they pay pediatric cardiologists what they feel they’re worth.

      And when you’re a pediatric cardiologist, you pretty much dictate your salary.

      • spez@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        What do you mean? Are public hospitals also for-profit in Louisiana? How can an employee dictate thier salary?

        Edit: also why the fuck am I downvoted? I can’t ask questions?

        • RickRussell_CA@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          They dictate their salary by leaving and finding people who will pay them.

          Pediatric cardiology is a difficult specialty and it turns out that people are willing to spend quite a lot of money when their children have heart problems.

          • InputZero@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Difficult, with a small supply of doctors and a high demand from patients. What would you pay to save your child’s life?

        • TrueStoryBob@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I can’t give you a breakdown of the numbers but, some of the public hospitals in the state have been privatized, yes.

    • Saneless@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Smart people don’t want to raise families in states designed to be at the bottom of lists like education, jobs, medicine, and happiness

      But hey, I’m sure the people still living there have owned the libs so many times, it’s all worth it

    • dhork@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The very end of the article said “Now there are two pediatric cardiologists in the state”, which implies there were three before.