Dear Next President,

Transgender men and women have been a controversial topic in the year of 2016. Some state governments has even issued bills regarding bathroom usage of transgender people. Some believe that transgender people should be able to decide which restroom they would like to use, while others believe that they should use the restroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate. I personally agree with the side that says that transgender people should decide for themselves.

Recently, North Carolina and the Justice Department disagreed about the state’s bathroom bill. According to the article from Newsela, “The law bans transgender people from using bathrooms that don’t match the gender on their birth certificates.” I believe that this goes against Civil Rights and limits people’s freeness to be themselves. I also believe that this is contributing to the increasing number of suicide and discrimination cases. As it states in the infographic from the “Transgender Suicide” article, “1 out of 2 transgender youth people attempt suicide by age 20.” Also, on the infographic from Transequality, “97% of transgender people have been mistreated at work because of being transgender.” By discriminating against transgender people and not allowing them to have their freedom, we are contributing to the reason for these people to harm themselves.

On the other hand, the opposing side says that transgender people should be able to decide for themselves. Personally, I agree with this side of the argument. This gives people the freedom to be themselves without discrimination. The NBA is even helping in the fight for equality by saying that they “will move the All-Star Game from Charlotte next season if the law is not changed.” This is stated in the Newsela article.This is a big deal and should cause major rethinking for North Carolina’s government.

Most of the United States is not even active in protecting the rights of transgender people. According to the “Non-Discrimination” article listed on the infographic, “Only 13 states plus DC protect transgender individuals from discrimination.” In other words, only a small portion on the US cares about these people’s rights being taken away from them. If every state contains at least one transgender person in it, then why isn’t the government protecting their rights? No government should let such a large issue stay unsolved.

By being an activist in this fight for equality, we are helping to lower the rates of suicide and discrimination of transgender people. Making people feel uncomfortable just by being themselves is wrong, and it can be prevented if everyone would realize that. Since America is a “free country”, being who you want to be should not be a problem. However, since it is an issue it must be solved.

Sincerely,

G. T.