Zoe Muccatira, Fargo

“Be yourself!” Many North Dakota legislators would disagree with this statement. Multiple anti-LGBTQ+ bills are currently being considered by our legislators to become state law. A large portion of these bills specifically target transgender youth–allowing discriminatory practices in schools and hospitals. North Dakota youth could have their education severely impacted and be prevented from receiving necessary, lifesaving healthcare.

There are bills that would diminish their participation in sports, disallow usage of bathrooms that align with that person’s identity, and even force misgendering or using improper names. These bills would create an even more uncomfortable atmosphere in schools and aid in further discrimination and bullying towards transgender students in a state that already does not do enough to protect them. Every student should receive the same amount of respect as any other student; that should not disappear just because it is tied to respecting someone’s gender expression. There is no meaningful or logical reason that these bills need to be put in place because there is no problem to solve. Simply put, our legislators do not care about transgender students’ mental, emotional, or physical wellbeing.

At the end of the day, someone else being transgender does not harm anyone. If you are against transgender people having the same rights to care and respect as anyone else, you are the cause of the harm. Discrimination and hate will just end more lives, including the lives of children. Remember that there is no love behind hate, and that there is no love behind these discriminatory bills that we are seeing. Contact your legislators to oppose these hateful anti-LGBTQ+ bills at www.ndlegis.gov/legend/constituent/views/public/contact_legislator/.