In this section, they clarify that this would involve doing “everything possible” to move forward with the 44 prisoners on federal death row and expanding the types of crimes that could be eligible for the death penalty. They specifically reference overturning Kennedy v. Louisiana, which prohibits the death penalty for crimes in which the victim did not die (sexual abuse, for example).
This policy proposal, when taken with other stated agendas of Project 2025, points to a worrying possibility. Throughout the book, there are definition changes and calls for increased punishment that will impact the LGBTQIA+ community. Earlier, on PDF page 37, they define pornography as “the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology” and that “it has no claim to First Amendment protection. Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women.” Their conclusion: “the people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders.”
Changing the definition of pornography to include LGBTQIA-affirming books and educational materials would implicate teachers, librarians, and parents of trans children. They label them sex offenders who should be imprisoned. And as we see above, they are also expanding the death penalty to apply to child sexual abuse. Teachers, librarians, and parents who offer LGBTQIA-affirming materials will face fines and imprisonment at the very least. And depending how the zealous conservative political appointees interpret “registered sex offenders” and “child sexual abuse,” in these scenarios, these educators and caregivers may face the death penalty. (Note that Project 2025 does not overtly connect the death penalty to LGBTQIA+ communities.)
