Trans Rights Will Ultimately Be Protected

Trans Rights Will Ultimately Be Protected

There's always an ebb and flow when change comes. When we were starting to make real progress in the trans community in the last decade, I knew there would be blowback. There were certain things people were questioning. People on the right were afraid. The very fabric of society was being threatened, according to them.

I am a realist, and I also don't mind honest questions being asked when it comes to transgender topics. We shouldn't be afraid to ask questions about our own movement. Are we going about things the right way? What can we do to make things a little bit easier for the ones who will be coming out behind us? What can we do to calm the fears people have about transgender people?

Fear is a very important topic, because with fear comes violence. As I write this, Trans Day of Remembrance is just about here once again. I intend to go and remember those who we have lost in the last year. They have a gathering not far from where I live on November 20th.

Ultimately, my belief is that trans rights are going to win. Just as gay and lesbian rights have been accepted as human rights, so too will trans rights be accepted. The struggles of those who have come out before this generation will make a difference for those in this generation and beyond. We must also encourage our allies, stay vigilant and stand up for our rights.

I'm proud of my transgender sisters and brothers who have made good lives for themselves. People don't always come out when they're young. Sometimes it's a process that sees them coming out later in life, but their transition is no less valid. It's important that people in general see trans women and men as any other person with hopes and dreams, just trying to live their best lives.

What has been said in the last decade is very true. The ones who come out as trans now will make some big impacts in society for years to come. These are the ones that weren't kicked out of their parent's homes for being who they are, but instead they were loved and protected by their families.

That's as it should be, when you think about it. It's so silly for a parent to think that a transgender or gay child is somehow an insult to them. Their children are who they were born to be, plain and simple. When a trans child gets loved and nurtured, they have a better opportunity to go on to do good things.

I like the idea of parents saying, "I love you, but you're going to follow my rules. You're going to do your homework and be home by dark, and I will be here for you." The same sort of thing any other child would hear from loving parents.

Trans children being encouraged to be who they are and being encouraged to get an education are important. I think about children who come out and go through the puberty they identify with, and it makes me smile. I didn't get that growing up, and I wish I had.

This generation will get better education and thusly have a better chance to be in a position to make a big difference in the world. They may make important discoveries that make other people's lives that much better.

It's also true that transgender people are getting into more influential positions in the world. They're getting elected to office on local and state levels and shaping politics. I'm very proud of Zooey Zephyr, the State Representative of Montana, not to mention her fiancé Erin Reed, who writes important articles about the transgender struggle.

Zooey knows firsthand how the right is so afraid of transgender people that they are trying to pass laws to eradicate them. She stood up, face to face with Montana lawmakers at the risk of persecution, but she also knew she was standing up on the right side of history. She is certainly one of the leaders of the trans community these days.

The right wants to scapegoat the transgender community for all the problems in the world today, but people are beginning to see right through them. Ultimately, they will fail, and people are going to understand one simple truth. Trans rights are human rights. You don't have to love transgender people to respect their rights. That's all that's being asked.