This is an opinion column.

Somebody found out a trans woman in Huntsville had a job as a Space Camp counselor, and complained about it on Facebook.

People freaked.

Three members of Congress from Alabama – U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Reps. Dale Strong and Robert Aderholt – rushed to climb aboard the outrage.

Because people like that can’t be allowed at a place like Space Camp, they reasoned. You know. For the safety of the kids.

The feeding frenzy was on.

Alabama House Speaker Mack Butler, a Republican from Rainbow City – of all places – quickly assured frightened Alabamians that the Legislature would add Space Camp to its ever-expanding “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Butler is the same guy who described expanding that bill as a way to “purify” the schools.

Because purity matters to Alabama.

So somebody is demonized for who they are. Not for anything they did, mind you, but who they are.

In the name of safety.

So what if study after study shows that LGBTQ people don’t abuse kids or anybody else any more than purified folks? So what if study after study shows gay and trans kids are way more likely to be abused by heterosexual people, and hate crimes against those kids have skyrocketed in states that passed laws like “Don’t Say Gay?”

Alabama says it wants to protect kids.

Just not those kids.

There are threats out there. We know that. So if we want to protect children by not saying words it’s not just “gay” we shouldn’t say.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has identified more than 7,000 priests who have been “credibly” or “not implausibly” accused of sexually abusing 20,000 kids.

Don’t say Catholic.

The Southern Baptist Convention identified hundreds of Baptist preachers and church workers accused of abusing children between 2010 and 2019.

At least 33 of those accused church sex abusers were from Alabama.

Don’t Say Baptist.

And don’t say Boy Scouts, either. Almost 8,000 Scout leaders have been accused of sex abuse.

Alabama lawmakers don’t say boo. In fact, given a chance to help very real victims, legislators have for years looked the other way.

Bills to expand the statute of limitations so victims of child sexual abuse can more reasonably hold their abusers accountable in court have struggled and died in Montgomery year after year. Two current bills, including a Scouts’ Honor bill that will allow as many as 2,000 abused Alabama Scouts to receive just compensation, are awaiting action now.

They are real things.

Those bills would help people and punish the abusers. They have been pushed, and are being pushed in this session, by real people, men and women who say they were abused by churches, scout leaders, teachers, family, and politicians, and the law gave them no access to the courts, or to compensation, or to closure.

Maybe they have a chance this year, but so far our politicians have failed these people.

Even though they have been victimized by real predators. Even though they have been harmed. The purifying Alabama Legislature would prefer they got on with their lives.

I guess it’s easier to deal with a phantom menace than real danger.

So the state’s most powerful people turn on a trans woman in Huntsville because of who she is. Not what she has or has not done.

Our leaders are supposed to be role models, and they are. For middle school bullies.

John Archibald is a two-time Pulitzer winner.