I have always believed in the fundamental value of human rights and equality for all people. All throughout my education, I have studied and gravitated toward topics that explore how mankind comes to harm others, how we repeat acts of othering groups of people to the point of depriving them of civil liberties, access to quality food, medicine, and shelter, and dignity. We have done this over and over again throughout history. Rwandans did it to each other. The British did it to every country they colonized. Germans did it to Jewish people. Catholics to all other religions. There are countless  examples throughout time of humans blindly judging others. Wars are birthed out of an inability to understand the humanity of another perspective. In some way, the issues being fought over always boil down to an inability to see humanity in others. I know I am simplifying a very complicated subject, but I don’t have time to write a book on the intricacies of human behavior. I just know genocide is real. I know discrimination in any form denies basic human rights to others and I know this deprivation is wrong.

This week, my wife and I were reminded, once again, she is not a protected class of human in this country. People believe she doesn’t have a right to her identity. I’ve tried to write this post a million different ways and I keep coming back to one message: it’s not enough to just believe in the plight of the transgender human. Myself, my wife, the 1.4 million transgender people and their families need all of you to engage and advocate with us. The road from the memo released on Saturday to incarceration and elimination of Katie’s right to live a life with dignity is not as long as I would like it to be. Trans Rights are Human Rights. We will not be eliminated. I see Katie, do you?