- We're gonna move on now to trans rights.
There have been many anti-LGBTQ+ bills
introduced and enacted,
outlawing things like gender-affirming healthcare
and banning kids from playing sports.
To go deeper into this issue,
here with us today is Dylan Mulvaney,
who's welcomed us into her life by showing on social media
her Girlhood series.
Let's take a look.
- My name is Dylan Mulvaney.
I am a trans woman
and I am documenting my transition publicly on TikTok
for the world to see.
When people started watching
and the numbers kept getting higher,
I realized quickly how public my transition would be.
Of course, I knew that there would be
backlash and negativity.
I tried to not let the internet's words hurt me
or my spirit.
But do you know what does hurt?
Seeing people in power
and authority figures creating laws and bills
that are actively trying to harm us trans humans,
especially trans children.
Our lives have become political talking points.
Lawmakers in many states want to exclude us
from participating in sports or getting proper healthcare.
Some folks want to decide where we can use the bathroom.
No one should have fear living in a state
that they call home while being true to themselves.
No one should have their lives put in danger
because of who they are inside.
That's why I'm sharing my story with the world.
I'm using my platform to stand up for my community
and for any of the little Dylans that deserve a clear path
to their true identity.
Mr. President, this is my 221st day
of publicly transitioning.
- God love you.
- Thank you.
I am extremely privileged to live in a state
that allows me access to the resources I need,
and that decision is just between me and my doctors.
But many states have lawmakers
that feel like they can involve themselves
in this very personal process.
Do you think states should have a right
to ban gender-affirming healthcare?
- I don't think any state
or anybody should have the right to do that,
as a moral question and as legal question.
I just think it's wrong.
I think I was saying before we started
that my son, my deceased son,
used to be the attorney general of the state of Delaware.
He passed the most, the broadest piece of legislation
that he, as attorney general,
was able to convince the legislature, the governor to sign
that dealt with all gender-affirming capability.
I mean, there's a lot of,
sometimes they try to block you
from being able to access certain medicines,
being able to access certain procedures, and so on.
None of that should be available.
I mean, no state should be able to do that, in my view.
So, I feel very, very strongly
that you should have every single solitary right,
including use of your gender identity bathrooms in public.
- Thank you, thank you.
And it feels like Republicans have turned trans
and non-binary people into this thing
to blame society's downfall on in some ways.
And this narrative is not only dangerous
to our mental health, but also our physical safety.
And particularly trans women of color
are being murdered at an alarming rate.
- More than any other group of people.
- Thank you.
How can Democratic leaders be more effective
in advocating for us trans people, and our families,
and our lives, and our opportunities?
- I'm not being facetious when I say this,
being seen with people like you.
I mean it.
I genuinely mean it.
People fear what they don't know.
They fear what they don't know.
And when people realize, individuals realize,
"Oh, this is what they're telling me to be frightened of?
"This is the problem, this is?"
I mean, people change their minds.
People just don't know enough to know.
And it's not because of intellectual incapability,
it's just lack of exposure.
And I think that it's really important
that we continue to speak out
about the basic fundamental rights of all human beings
and the idea,
the idea that what's going on in some states,
I won't get into the politics of it,
but in some states it's just, it's outrageous
and I think it's immoral.
The trans part's not immoral.
What they're trying to do to trans persons is immoral.
- Thank you.
And do you have any messages to the families of trans folks
that are seeking options for their children,
but are struggling to find resources?
Do you have a message to those parents?
- Yeah, I do.
This is blood of your blood, bone of your bone.
And it is,
again, speaking to my son when he spent a year in Iraq
and he was a decorated soldier.
He volunteered to go.
He had to give up the attorney general's job
and then came back to it,
and he started a foundation.
I'm not allowed to talk about now
because I can't raise money for it any longer,
but it was for abused children.
And one of the things he did,
he's raised millions of dollars, this organization,
to basically educate parents
as to what they should not be afraid of,
and to educate the community
as to what is,
what is just pure hyperbole.
And so, I just think it's a matter
leaders speaking out and saying.
As I told you,
I mentioned a young woman who used to be in his staff,
used to be in my staff, who is now a state senator,
and she's trans and she's a state senator
in the state of Delaware,
in an area that was historically very conservative,
the part of Delaware,
and she's running unopposed this time.
So, things are changing, things are changing.
But it's a matter of us acknowledging
that there's nothing to be,
just because it's different,
there's nothing to be fearful about.