Dear Next President,

Transgender people have always suffered from a lot of hate in the past and are still dealing with a lot of negativity today. People, especially teens and children, should not fear just going to the bathroom of their gender or to come out to someone because of the fact that they might be harassed and even in some extreme cases killed. It’s also hard enough to transition with all of the fees and how it can affect you mentally, that they shouldn't have to deal with the extra burden of society judging them. I do think that there should be a non-gendered bathroom but not that trans people should be forced to go to use that bathroom but that it can be a safe place for anyone to just use the restroom.

With the new law stating that transgender people can use the bathroom that matches their gender identity there has been quite a bit of controversy. Although it is a national law, North Carolina has decided that it does not want to follow that and make a new law that you have to go to the bathroom that matches the gender that is written on your birth certificate. The only way to change the gender on your birth certificate in North Carolina is the have sex-reassignment surgery, which is very expensive and not every trans person can afford. Their reasoning for passing this law is that letting trans people use the bathroom in which they feel more comfortable in is somehow not respecting the privacy of cis-gendered people. They have also made the assumption that letting trans people use the bathroom of their choice can make it easier for sex offenders to get into the opposite gender's bathroom. Of course with sexual predators there is always a fear of them coming into bathrooms to harass people but whether trans people have to go to a specific bathroom or not will not some how change or lessen the number of sexual predators. Although these reasons are somewhat valid in the smallest way, it is still ridiculous and ignorant that they decided because of those reasons that they get to force trans people to go into the opposite gender's bathroom. Which can also lead to them being sexually or physically assaulted. With everything there should be a non-gendered bathroom for anyone because not everyone identifies as male or female and if a trans person prefers to use a bathroom like that because they may not be ready to use the bathroom of their gender, they still have a choice.

It has been reported that 97% of transgender people have experienced discrimination at work. People should not be discriminated for any reason and especially not something they literally can’t change. Many trans kids and young adults need our help. Even if there wasn't a whole ordeal about them and everyone accepted trans people, they still have to go through a lot of changes in their lives. A lot of transgender people choose to transition so that their body matches how they view themselves mentally. It is honestly life changing when they finally reach their goal but not a lot of them can. More than 50% of transgender teens attempt suicide before they are even 20 years old. They have to go through many challenges in their life and more times then not transgender people are bullied, not accepted by their peers, sexually and physically assaulted, and many other problems that no one should be facing. With all of that stress it can make sense that transgender people would want to end their lives but no one should.

According to the HRC between .25% and 1% of the US population identifies as transgender. Although that may not seem like a lot compared to the US population, in reality that’s quite a few people, 1.4 million, that just want to go to the bathroom, need to feel safe in their own environments, need help, and feel wanted and accepted by their communities. Which doesn’t even add the number of people that aren’t openly trans for countless reasons. We, the US, have come a long way with accepting people, from segregation to passing the gay marriage law, but we still have a long ways to go and the next big step is accepting transgender people for who they are.

Sincerely,

A.C.