Last month, my mother-in-law turned 80. We had a party, spent time with people we don’t see nearly enough, shared amazing food, and celebrated a woman who makes a point of telling her loved ones what they mean to her and how special we are. One of her recent messages urged, “love one another. In this moment in history, spend effort on kindness. And, fragile as it may feel to do so, let yourself lean back into the love that surrounds you.”
This moment is incredibly hard. Each day brings a new, fresh hell from an administration that is weaponizing civil rights laws, gutting federal agencies, targeting immigrants, lawyers and judges, and endangering lives here and around the world. Those actions, falling on the heels of the unprecedented slate of state laws attacking and even criminalizing LGBTQ people in recent years, takes a toll.
And yet, at the exact time when people might retreat or bunker into their own spaces, our clients choose to fight. Far from hiding in the shadows, they bravely come forward to challenge the laws and policies that target all transgender people in every facet of their lives. They are the heart and soul of our movement. And for our clients who are kids, the stakes are incredibly high. One of our clients sent us a note a while back that I think about often. It was early in her case—so early that we had not yet met her in person—but she was about to be with us at an important hearing. Her note thanked us for coming to her state and said it was “amazing that you would come all this way to defend people you’ve never met.”
But here is the thing. We do know you. We know that you are a child who, like every child, needs a world where adults fight for your safety and security instead of trying to criminalize your parents and healthcare providers. You need adults who understand that schools, sports teams, medical offices, and even bathrooms should be safe and supportive places for you—not political targets.
As a parent, I constantly think about the long-term effects of this discrimination on our clients’ lives. I hope that as details fade and their lives continue into adulthood, the biggest thing they remember about this time is that adults fought for them. Not just the lawyers, but their parents, their grandparents, their friends, their teachers, and everyone who gave them the love and support every child needs.
That is not their world right now, but it is the one that NCLR will fight for day in and day out. For as long as it takes. Until then, I have the same hope for this time as my mother-in-law. That our clients and all transgender people, however fragile it feels, can lean into the love that surrounds you. That kindness and decency replace hate and fear. And that you know we have your backs.
