“Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth,” the department proposed in the memo, which was drafted and has been circulating since last spring. “The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence.” — New York Times, October 22, 2018

No. Just, no.

Mr. President, you don’t get to pretend like transgender people don’t exist. You don’t get to diminish them, dismiss them, or degrade them. They are PEOPLE, damnit, with hearts and hopes and dreams of being who they were born to be. And you, Mr. Narrow-minded, do not get to say they are anything other than real, equal, and deserving of every human right you enjoy.

I do not understand. I cannot comprehend. And I cannot condone the notion that gender is strictly biological.

I have been honored to meet too many people who were born in the wrong body and were forced for years to live as someone they were not, simply because their anatomy dictated it. Once they had the opportunity to live their truth, they were happy, fulfilled, and free. No one, not even the leader of the free world, should have the right to take that from them. The ripple effects of this way of thinking – from banning trans troops from serving in the military to healthcare impacts and the educational roadblocks it will put in place – are dangerous and precedent-setting. And just plain wrong.

Mr. Trump, have you met anyone who is trans? Have you heard their story? Have they told you how different their life has been since they were able to live their truth? My guess is no. Or if so, you weren’t listening. Because there is no way on God’s green earth that you’d consider this action if you had.

As a proud ally, I stand with every person under the rainbow. As a human, I stand with every other member of humanity. Because I have a heart.

Do you?