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Alani Bayha

Tara Samuels

Humanities

11 December 2020

Issues 2020: Letter to Your Representative

Hello Rep. Scott Peters,

My name is Alani, I am a senior at High Tech High San Diego. I am writing to encourage

you to fight for the rights of transgender people. Trans people are often discriminated against,

they deserve your support and respect.

“It makes me feel unimportant. It makes me feel angry. It makes me feel invisible.” That

was a quote from a transgender student in Maryland who was banned from using the bathroom

that corresponded to their gender identity. According to ​The Leadership Conference Education

Fund​, “70% of transgender students said they’d avoided bathrooms because they felt unsafe or

uncomfortable.” It is a shame trans people can’t enjoy something as vital as a bathroom.

According to The Leadership Conference Education Fund​, “50% of transgender students

were unable to use the name or pronoun that matched their gender.” Imagine, every day of your

life, every one of your peers insisted on addressing you by the wrong name or wrong pronouns.

It would likely take a toll on you emotionally. According to the ​Human Rights Campaign

Foundation​, "60% of LGBQ youth reported being so sad or hopeless they stopped doing some of

their usual activities.”

The discrimination goes further than just subtle disrespect. According to a ​2015 survey of

California​, 76% of openly trans people felt harassed or discriminated against. 56% were verbally

harassed, 26% were attacked physically, 15% were sexually assaulted, and 17% were severely
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mistreated. Trans people and non-binary people are being terribly disrespected, just because their

gender identity. It gets worse. The ​National Center for Transgender Equality​ says, “In just seven

months, the number of transgender people suspected of being murdered in 2020 has surpassed

the total for all of 2019.” It goes on to say that the majority of this violence is aimed towards

Black and Latina trans women. They are often criminalized and fear asking for help from the

police.

Trans people are being horribly mistreated and they deserve to be seen, respected, and

fought for. Trans people have been singled out and violently and subtly hurt because of their

gender identity. They deserve to be recognized as their true selves and supported. I implore you

to respect and fight for trans rights. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Alani Bayha