Trump Strips Bathroom Rights of Transgender Youth

The LGBTQ Community showed great fear when the LGBTQ page was stripped from the White House website earlier this year. It's becoming apparent that fear was backed with good reasoning.

On Wednesday Trump took away federal protection for transgender youth to use the restroom of their personal identity. It is now up to each state to decide whether or not they will back the protective rights put in place to assure that this nation's youth are safe and comfortable in their place of learning and growth. How is one supposed to focus on studying and developing as a person when he or she is afraid to use the restroom?

Several states are fighting to place bills that retract these protective rights from transgender students. Surprisingly, even leaders of the Republican Party, including representatives in Texas, have voiced their opinion toward keeping the current system. Most believe that these bills will not go far due to powerful people who will do whatever is necessary to stop this from happening.

Several celebrities have already spoken out against Trump's decision via Twitter.

Ellen DeGeneres tweeted "Just seeing the news about removing laws protecting trans people. This isn't about politics. It's about human rights, and it's not okay."

Caitlyn Jenner posted a video in which she called the Attorney General a bully and spoke out against Trump by saying " Well @realDonaldTrump, from one Republican to another, this is a disaster. You made a promise to protect the LGBTQ community. Call me."

Zac Petkanas, DNC Senior Adviser, posted a tweet that landed him an interview on FOX News in which Tucker Carlson seemed to barrage him with questions about whether or not a scientist could "prove if someone is transgender". Carlson continued to ask questions like "Was Obama attacking vulnerable LGBT kids a year ago before putting this policy in place? He spent seven years as president and didn't do this. Was he a monster?" and "What prevents me from playing on a women's field hockey team?" The interview seemed to go far off course from the main issue here - the right to pee in peace.

A recent post in The New York Times stated that 1 out of every 137 youth identifies as transgender. The NCES quoted an approximate 50.4 million students attending public schools in the 2016-2017 school year. That calculates at least 367,883 students that could lose their own right to something as simple as using the bathroom in comfort.

The simple rights of Americans seem to be getting stripped away more and more as we get farther into this presidency, and it has only been official for a month. From Islamophobia to transphobia, only time will tell how long we will go before our everyday lives become much different than what we have become accustomed. Welcome (depending on your race and place of origin) to America, the land of the prejudice and the home of the coward.