In previous elections, I often heard that one should vote as if their life depended on it.
I think its safe to say without hyperbole that with the midterm elections on Tuesday and likely the presidential election in 2020, we have moved into a climate where we should vote BECAUSE our lives depend on it.
I know some of you of don’t like it when I discuss politics, but I will always maintain that the transgender community never sought to make being trans a political issue. But being transgender has now become front and center when it comes to human rights.
I make it no secret that I am liberal. I believe in science, I believe in equality and I believe in helping others. As someone who presents as a white male most of the time, I am not often faced with discrimination. I am constantly learning what it’s like for other genders and races to do things that I take for granted. It’s important that I see life through the eyes of others. Issues regarding anyone’s rights and experiences are issues that everyone should treat as important.
In the last two years we have seen laws and legislature discussed and pass that affects our community. Some of us shrug them off. I get emails that tell I am making too big of a deal about this. Some ask why I care since I don’t plan on transition. I’ll tell you why.
We are all members of the transcommunity. Whether you have legally changed your name, starting hormones or just wear panties, we are all in this together. Although I don’t plan on transitioning, I do not want any law passed that affects the rights and medical options of my friends who have, or will, or may one day transition.
When I go out to dinner or hit the mall, I do not want to be refused service just because I am wearing a dress and heels. But now the Department of Justice says that businesses can discriminate because I am transgender. If you live in a state that allows you to update the gender box on your driver’s license to reflect something other that the gender you were assigned to at birth, you may soon lose that right. If my employer ever found out I identified as transgender, it’s perfectly legal for them to fire me because of that.
If you are transgender and this does not make you afraid, or if you believe in human rights and this does not anger you, I don’t know what else I can tell you to convince you to vote.
Please vote. Find your polling place here.
Love, Hannah
Hannah McKnight 
Yes, please! Vote as if our lives depend on it, because they do! I voted yesterday. I went in a dress and heels, probably the best dressed voter for the entire day.
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Yes, please vote. You don’t have to agree with everything Party A stand for, if you really despise what Party B are up to.
I feel the attitude of “well it won’t affect me” is shortsighted. This dialling down of rights is like a ratchet that – if you will – makes it “okay to discriminate against those type of people.”
Once such a thing becomes the norm, will the bigots stop or will they mark their next target? Anyone who says they’ll stop, see me after class 😉
So vote. If not for yourself but protect others.
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I will be watching from down under, with great concern the polling results as they become public. I hope that respect and decency prevail and that change occurs.
Like you I cannot see there is any downside to believing in science, being concerned for the welfare of our planet and the people we share it with. We are not all born the same. But surely we should all aspire to bestow the same dignity on all.
Geraldine
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VOTE VOTE VOTE
Really, so easy to do.
This world should be a safe place for all. Children, men, women, LGBTQ, whatever your identity we should all feel security in that we’ll be treated fairly in our society. Whether it is regarding job discrimination or which stall to pee in, we all have rights. There are many people who would deny us these rights; these people are actively chipping away at our freedoms – stand up now for your rights!
Hannah, thank you and all like you who pave the way in these trying times. We’ve come a long way in the last 50+ years, but the current administration is clearly aiming to undo the small gains made. I’m with Hannah, make your voice heard!
~Trish
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To set the story straight, I am a Conservative. I believe we all have more in common than we admit. I am politically conservative and lean to the liberal side when it comes to most social issues. I also am a MTF Cross Dresser and am not ashamed to say so. I believe in God. I want clean water and clean air. I believe all people should be treated with respect and with dignity. I believe all people need to show respect for others. I believe in the rule of law and we all must take responsibility for our own actions. I believe in FREE SPEECH and the right to be heard and not silenced–because others may disagree with us. I believe all people have the right to privacy and that privacy needs to be protected; regardless of who they may be, what gender they may present as [be] or where they may be. I believe in the goodness of man/woman-kind. I believe we ALL [regardless of political persuasion] need to tone down the rhetoric, LISTEN to one another, ACT in a civil manner and focus on what we have in common while acknowledging that we are all different. I believe that if we are unhappy with how things are we need to do it through the ballot box–not with civil unrest or by causing physical harm to those we disagree with. I believe we live in the greatest country in the world and to keep it that way everyone needs to get out and VOTE!
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If you are a transgendered woman, be sure to opt into our Emergency Benefits Program during open Enrollment. Receive coverage for health,legal, roadside assistance. visit us at http://www.Roadsidedirect.com/tshealth Or Call Us At -1-888-504-5514
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