Mutants in the United States

Mutants are a significant minority in the United States. While everyone has heard of them, the majority have not met a mutant that they know to be one. Of natural born citizens, less than 100,000 people test positive for the X-factor, and only 20,000 of those self-identify as mutants. Meeting one is often rare, and many people will be aware of little. However, there is is a strong thread of mutant immigration from areas of the world less friendly to mutants, and from less-developed nations.

In the media, mutants are characterized as the exaggerated or exoticized 'other'. The US is vaguely tolerant of mutant celebrities, but they are unlikely to achieve true respect and fame in the near future. Being openly mutant is still viewed as a bad choice for those who want to be in the public eye or who aim to climb high on the corporate ladder. News stories often focus around mutants and sensationalize their activities. Though the Pegasus mission has muted political spin tapping into fears of mutant violence and terrorism, the fear-mongers linger still. Change comes slowly, despite all that mutants have done for the country, and the world.

In rural America, mutants are the subject of urban legends, scary stories on the nightly news. There is very little personal knowledge to temper the uncertain fear. Most of America doesn't understand what mutants really are or what they can do. On the other hand, it's also the rare person who's known mutant-related violence first hand or has any real personal reason to find them frightening outside of the big cities.

Opinions vary across the country, but the majority of the US population is wary of mutants in a distant sort of way. They are content to leave well enough alone as long as they don't hit too close to home, but a recent violent incident in the news is likely to make more people think about having a complete list of mutants and restricting them in particular jobs. While the majority of the American population supports measures like mutant registration and sensitive positions, they are also more concerned about knowing who mutants are and what they can do than about stopping them through force or violence, and violent anti-mutant terrorist groups are a smaller minority than the mutants themselves. The 'mutant problem' is something that must be solved, and opinions on how to solve it vary drastically.

Mutants and the Federal Government

The Federal approach to the mutant issue has gone from extreme to extreme: mandatory registration was overturned, only for President Roger Lowe to be assassinated by mutants; President Richards' administration was more tolerant than his predecessors, but he failed to secure the presidency on his own merit thanks in no small part to the scandal of pardoning the terrorist Magneto following a mission in which mutants stopped an asteroid headed for earth. President Stockton was elected in 2008 on a platform of clear, firm answers to the mutant issue, and taking terrorism seriously.

The laws that exist and the sorts of discussions that are taking place at the federal level are aimed primarily at identifying and controlling mutants. Discussions are framed in terms of the good of the US population as a whole rather than in terms of benefiting mutant-kind, and although there's a Senator or two who may be concerned with mutant rights, the vast majority considers mutantkind to present an unknown danger to ordinary citizens. Issues such as legislation concerning telepathy are presented not to protect telepaths, but to protect non-mutants from telepathic coercion. The federal government seeks to walk the thin line between gathering information . and thus providing protection - and respecting the civil rights of those mutants living in the US.

Within the government, however, somewhere between and outside the military and the intelligence agencies, there lies a niche in which mutants can use their talents for the good of the country. This is X-Factor, a top-secret organization known to a very select few.

Mutants and State Governments

Individually, State governments have a good deal of leeway in how to apply individual mutant-based laws and what other laws to put on the books. Some interpret Sensitive Positions very strictly, while others (such as Hawaii) have legally designated mutants as a protected minority. New York State falls somewhere in the middle, with most of the mutant-based legislation coming at a more local level. New York City in particular has become something of a global a mutant capital, attracting mutants from across the globe with its forward-thinking planning and laws.