The harassment and the bullying that students face is a learned behavior.
I met my future husband Andy fighting for trans equality, and we fell in love. A couple of months after we started dating, Andy was diagnosed with cancer, and despite getting a clean bill of health several months later, eventually his cancer came back, and it was terminal.
Andy and I decided to get married in August of 2014, and just 4 days after we married, he passed away. For me, I carry my relationship with Andy with me in my LGBT advocacy work.
The Trump-Pence administration has truly become one of the most explicitly anti-LGBTQ administrations in history.
Put simply, barring transgender people from restrooms consistent with their gender identity doesn't help anyone, and continuing to allow transgender people to access those restrooms doesn't hurt anyone.
I'm so proud to stand with the LGBT Caucus and speak out in support of Hillary Clinton, because we know she stands with us.
Living authentically isn't an act of courage as much as an act of survival.
LGBTQ people are still targeted by hate that lives in both laws and in hearts.
I grew up in an upper-income household, in an accepting environment, and with incredible educational opportunities.
Being an American is an action; it's an ideal to strive for. It's being part of this constantly perfecting union that, with each generation, expands our scope and human understanding of 'We the people.'
When the boys and girls would line up separately in kindergarten, I'd find myself longing to be in the other line.
Transgender people frequently face bias in court and are assigned unsupportive public defenders, factors which lead to more extreme sentences and longer incarcerations.
My whiteness, economic privilege, able-bodied privilege, family support, and so many other factors shield me from some of the worst possible consequences - often fatal ones - that result from the toxic combination of misogyny, racism, and anti-trans sentiment.
I think, for me, with regard to my parents, my biggest fear was not that they would reject me but that I would disappoint them. That by coming out, I would simultaneously dash my own dreams and their dreams for me, and I was afraid of letting them down.
When you know someone's story, it becomes much harder to hate them.
This is how systems of oppression work: The violence, discrimination, and stigma I face as a woman compounds the violence, discrimination, and stigma I face as a trans person, and vice versa.
When a person finally has the courage to say, 'This is who I am,' and society is not there to welcome them with open arms, it is so tragic.
Since taking office, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have governed the exact same way they campaigned, which is with bigotry and with bluster, and that includes toward the LGBTQ community.
I love politics, love government, and I definitely want to stay involved. But I don't know if I'd ever want to run for office.
The reality is that Hillary Clinton has been a steadfast supporter of LGBT equality. She has evolved on the issue of LGBT equality, and I think we are a better movement when we give people space to grow and learn. We can't reduce it to a single issue like marriage equality.
