Erin Reed is a phenomenal trans activist who has been tracking the anti-trans laws being pushed in states across the nation. It is a huge job, but she has been getting it done. Go here to subscribe to her substack and support her much needed work.
I wanted to bring your attention to a particular legislative fight she has been covering in Missouri:
It was one of the most stunning moments of the night. In a hearing in Missouri which stretched late into the night to 2AM, an 11 year old trans boy named Dan gave a speech asking the legislative committee on general laws for his basic rights. Missouri legislators proposed 8 anti-trans bills and sent them into committee with only 25 hours notice, thinking that they could sneak them through while minimizing the chance that others would show up. It was a miscalculation - within hours of the announced bills, activists across the state mobilized and people drove hours in the snow just for a chance to testify. Dan’s family was among them, and for the first time of the night, the committee was going to hear a transgender boy speak about the effects these laws would have on him. His speech was so stunning that the following speaker who testified in favor of the anti-trans bills closed with the realization that the laws were government overreach, asking herself, “what am I doing here?” at the end of her testimony.
