Have you heard of the law that was passed in Arkansas in April of this year? It states that any human being under eighteen can not be prescribed or continue taking any gender-affirming medications or get gender reassigning surgery. This law is targeting transgender minors and taking away their rights to non-discrimination, freedom, and equality in dignity and rights. Both of those rights are articles in the UDHR (universal declaration of human rights) which the United States signed and agreed to follow. This law is pushing ideals that transgender minors are different and should not be respected; if you find this law disgusting and want to try and make a change read the rest of the article.

Hi, my name is Piper, and I am a citizen of the state of Georgia. A couple of weeks ago, I was looking through my newsfeed. I found an article that said the governor of Georgia Brian Kemp was considering passing the law that I talked about above when. I heard that I was saddened that the person who is supposed to be the voice of the people in Georgia would want to take away the rights of some of my peers, friends, and family. I decided that I wanted to try to write to Kemp and give him reasons why this law is terrible and should never be passed. 

“In September of 2020, the Williams Institute of UCLA found 4,950 transgender youth reside in Georgia. That would be 4,950 of your citizens that you would be stripping fundamental human rights of non-discrimination, and freedom and equality in dignity and rights from if the bill that bans anyone under eighteen from getting gender resignment surgery or being prescribed transitional medication passes. I am writing to you today to give you more information about the harm that coils come from this bill.” I ended up writing a 595-word persuasive essay with the introduction being what you just read, but I know that one letter won't make a difference, that's why I wrote this, I am asking all the people who are reading this piece to write a letter, use a tag on social media, or speak up on this issue. A difference is made by a group of people. 

Here are some resources that I found helpful if you do want to help out.

williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/LGBT-Youth-US-Pop-Sep-2020.pdf

washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/04/06/arkansas-transgender-ban-override-veto/

theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/06/arkansas-transgender-youth-gender-affirming-treatment-ban 

bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56657625

nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/arkansas-lawmakers-enact-transgender-youth-treatment-ban-n1263197