No Laughing Matter

Transgender people deserve the right to live a life with the same freedoms as everyone else. In order to live a peaceful, fulfilling life, transgenders need the proper identification that will allow them to do simple everyday things like driving, travelling, applying for a job or anything else that requires legal identification.

By having a gender listed on legal documents that does not reflect the way they appear in their everyday lives, transgenders are being subjected to possible ridicule, embarassment, and harrassment. By having the wrong gender on their documents, they are being forced to live with a quiet shame and suffer an indignity no one should have to suffer.

Not only do they deserve the right to have their proper gender listed on their identification, they deserve proper representation in our government. That government should not ridicule them, but should try to understand them, support them, and try to improve the quality of life for all its citizens.

We, as transgenders and transgender allies, are asking that you, our elected officials, take it upon yourselves to become more educated on the plight of transsexuals, to provide them with better legal options, and most importantly treat them with the respect that they, as fellow humans, deserve.