Queer Lit, a wonderful LGBTQ+ bookshop in Manchester, has packaged up 300 copies of the book ‘Trans Britain’ by Christine Burns MBE and sent it off to members of parliament from all over the UK.
As part of their activism around Trans Awareness Week, the LGBTQ+ bookshop sent copies of the Trans book to MPs in order “to give them comprehensive knowledge of the history of the Trans community before framing laws that affect them.”
The Manchester bookshop, Queer Lit explained to Manchester News how the campaign was actually crowdfunded by customers:
“We did a shout out to our customers where we gave people the chance to buy the book at cost price to then send to their local MP, if they felt like it may have been of use to them.
“Many got in touch after being upset or disagreeing with the previous voting record of their MPs who they felt were ignorant to trans rights.”
A total of 260 people got in touch offering to buy one of the books, with Queer Lit rounding that number up to 300.
This is such an important campaign to ensure MPs have a strong knowledge of Trans history before creating laws that affect our community.
Please share this and help ensure those books are read.@christineburns https://t.co/eMLLXc8xIN
— Queer Lit (@QueerLitUK) November 19, 2021
Christine Burns MBE, Author of Trans Britain took to Twitter to show her support of the campaign commenting: “Top moment of the week just gone. This is why community-specialist bookshops rock! I wonder if the MPs liked the prezzy that was waiting for them in their constituencies this weekend?”
Accompanying the deliveries, was a letter, written by the books’ editor Christine Burns. It included the following:
“A great deal has been said and written over the last four years about policy surrounding trans people and laws that were drafted, debated, passed and enacted by Parliament and which most of us thought were long settled.
“However, we live in an age when entire alternative systems of belief can be invented, travel around the internet and acquire the appearance of truth before anyone checks.
“This must be a difficult time in which to feel properly informed as a lawmaker.
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