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the story of pride begins with the
uprising at the stonewall inn back in
june of 1969.
the lgbtq community fought back during a
police rape
transgender women of color played a huge
role in that pivotal moment icons like
marsha p
johnson and sylvia rivera now 52 years
later a new generation of transgender
trailblazers is making history
i dr rachel levine dr rachel levine
became the first openly transgender
federal official ever confirmed by the
senate
to be nominated by the president and
confirmed i think demonstrates how
important equality and fairness is
and that anything is possible on tv the
groundbreaking series pose set a new bar
for transgender representation and
entertainment
that glass hasn't shattered yet but it's
cracked it's cracked
so that means there is some work being
done oscar-nominated actor elliot page
recently came out as transgender
sharing his story with oprah being able
to
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touch my chest and
feel comfortable in my body for the
probably the first time
such high-profile stories are a
reflection of the real world
when towns big and small teenagers like
sixteen-year-old phoenix
are sharing their stories finally i've
kind of been able to express myself and
finally kind of get some relief it
evolved out of the cocoon into a
beautiful butterfly but trans kids are
also the focus of battles in state
legislatures across the country
this year alone more than a hundred
bills targeting the transgender
community have been introduced in over
30 states
that includes laws restricting
transgender participation in sports
passed in seven states this year
and one last year i can tell you this in
florida
you know girls are going to play girls
sports and boys are going to play boys
sports
lawmakers who support the sports bands
argue transgender girls have an unfair
advantage
nbc news reached out to the eight
governors who signed those laws asking
if they could give us any examples of
such an advantage
in their states but not a single one did
sir
can you give me one example of a
transgender
child trying to get an unfair advantage
just one in your state you signed a bill
about it
no i can't really tell you one mental
health advocates worry the wave of
legislation is marginalizing a community
that already faces higher rates of
depression and anxiety
recent survey found more than half of
transgender and non-binary youth
have seriously considered attempting
suicide in the past
year let me be clear the passing of
these bills
will harm trans lives
violence is a concern too so far in 2021
at least 28
transgender or gender non-conforming
people have been murdered
most are black or latinx at this pace
it will be a record year you know every
time i walk out of the door i'm afraid
if i could make it back alive
yet you'll still find plenty of optimism
this year 16 year old stella keating
testified before the senate
she dreams of becoming america's first
transgender
president i just want to be treated as a
normal kid because i'm
not that different you know i just have
one small
little detail about me that's slightly
different than the majority of other
teens and that's
just that i'm transgender many of the
laws passed this year are facing legal
challenges in court that includes
controversial legislation in arkansas
that prevents
trans miners from getting gender
affirming care like puberty blockers and
hormones
the governor actually vetoed that bill
calling it a vast government overreach
but lawmakers overrode that veto
the law is slated to take effect in late
july unless a judge says otherwise we're
going to take a much deeper look at that
specific state and
many other issues in a special that we
have airing tomorrow night on
nbc news now called trans america we'll
be looking at mental health
issues of violence pop culture religion
and so many other issues
boy those violent numbers really stick
out suicides
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