Stephen Scaer is an American writer and anti-transgender activist.
Scaer is best known as “Sidewalk Steve,” one of several “parental rights” activists who appear in public holding or wearing anti-transgender signs, including January Littlejohn and “Billboard Chris.”
Scaer gets money and attention by trying to provoke responses from trans and gender-diverse people and their supporters.
Background
Stephen C. “Steve” Scaer was born on June 18, 1963. Scaer attended Indiana University, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees there. Scaer then earned another master’s degree from Rivier University.
Scaer is a longtime resident of Nashua, New Hampshire and was a special education teacher there. Scaer has published several poems and a book on cave exploration.
Scaer and spouse Bethany “Beth” Scaer (born 1962) have two adult children, Hannah (born 1993) and Rachel (born 1996).
Anti-transgender activism
Stephen and Beth Scaer got involved in anti-trans activism around 2017, when the New Hampshire House heard public statements about HB1319, a bill to prevent discrimination against transgender people:
Beth Scaer, a resident of Nashua, read testimony from a friend she identified only as “Mary” who felt the bill would put women’s safety at risk. “I would be too frightened to use a public bathroom if I knew there could be a man there,” Scaer read from the testimony.
Ronayne (2017)
Therapist David Pickup from anti-trans group American College of Pediatricians also testified against the bill. The bill passed and was signed into law in 2018.
In 2022, Stephen Scaer ran on the Republican ticket for election to the New Hampshire State Senate to represent District 13. According to Scaer’s candidate website:
Stephen is a pro-life candidate who will fight for school choice, for Second Amendment rights, and for limited government. He is an advocate for protecting gender-confused children from puberty blockers, wrong-sex hormones, and disfiguring surgeries and often takes to the sidewalk. He has worked with people across the political spectrum to post billboard messages as well as collaborated with feminists to keep men from invading women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and women’s prisons, and from stealing their spots on sports podiums.
Scaer (2022)
On November 8, 2022, Scaer lost to incumbent Lucinda Rosenwald by over 16 points.
References
Ronayne, Kathleen (February 21, 2017). Bill adds gender identity to anti-discrimination protections. Associated Press https://apnews.com/article/80e788e7b8e64b8698cfac82921d22e6
Scaer, Stephen (November 15, 2022). Opinion: Gender-affirming care harms NH children. New Hampshire Union Leader https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/stephen-scaer-gender-affirming-care-harms-nh-children/article_6d6a39cc-c0eb-5599-9bba-77e3ee4e3d33.html
Media
Erin Brewer (August 6, 2022). Sidewalk Steve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfYO9hOX8ec
Resources
Sidewalk Steve (sidewalksteve.org)
Stephen Scaer (stephenscaer.com)
Stephen 4 NH (stephen4nh.com) [archive]
Twitter (twitter.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)