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>> the senate judiciary committee fortissimo xian lgbtq civil rights . focusing on transgender youth. during the hearing, they focus on care for minors and why some laws crematory. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [ >> this meeting will come to >> order of the genetic judiciary

committee. this we can series including chicago across the globe will host the annual pride parade. celebrating lgbtq families friends and neighbors. just a short time relatively, a few decades, our nation has made remarkable progress taking the rights of lgbtq americans. eight years ago, the hodges trial, which made average quality the loveland. on a bipartisan basis, they had respect for marriage act. while pride month is an opportunity to liberate the milestones, today we remember that right begin with an active resistance. back in 1970, the first-ever parade was organized to mark the one-year anniversary of the stonewall uprising it was a protest led by jay transgender and gender nonconforming americans who refused to accept the unjust system of laws and

united together to change not just america but to change the world. today we draw from that spirit to unite together and acknowledging and defending the rights of lgbt americans. because right now, extremist politicians across america are targeting lgbt youth. along with the medical professionals who care for them and the parents who love them. i want to turn to a video that shares the story of one of those parents and his plea for the leaders in his home state of missouri to stop these horrible attacks. ♪ ♪ >>, husband, a father of four. two boys, two girls. including a transgender daughter. today is her birthday. i chose to be here. i remember the day and change for me. i got home from work, and my daughter and her brother were in the front lawn.

and, she had -- she snaked on one of the older sisters play dresses. and they wanted to go across the street to play with the neighbors kids. it was time for dinner. i said come in. she asked, can she go across the street. i said not. she asked me if if she went inside and put on boy clothes, which he did go across the street. and play. and, that's when it hit me, my daughter was equating being good with being someone else. my child was miserable. i cannot overstate that. she was absolutely miserable. on that day, my wife and i stop silencing our child's spirit. i now have a confidence, of a smiling happy daughter, i came here today as a parent to share my story. i need you to understand, that this language, if it becomes law, will have real effects on real people. it will affect my daughter. it will mean she cannot play on the girls volleyball team or

dance squad or tennis team. i ask you, please do not take that away from my daughter, or the countless others like her. she is not my son. she is my daughter. let them be who they are. >> since the start of the year, the nation's sine wave of anti- lgbt bills. more than 525 have been introduced in 41 states, many of them specifically targeting our transgender youth. some of bills seek to ban gender affirming care, while others designed to dictate what sports kids can play or what bathrooms they can use. all of them are part of the same concerted effort, exercising the power of government to target children. at the same time, leaders are promoting anti-lgbtq rhetoric. during this year's conservative political action conference, one speaker was applauded when he declared "change terrorism

must be eradicated". we must direct this elsewhere. and we would like to remind our colleagues, children are listening. they are endangered. in fact, transgender youth almost of the depression and death by suicide. so, when these people who are already struggling here politicians able flying eightfold rhetoric that denies their very existence, what message does it send? we have a responsibility to support children about how they identified. this morning across america, families are meeting with doctors, being told that they must make critical decisions, life-and-death, about surgery and medical treatment for their children. these are personal and family moments which the parents will never forget. i know, i've been there. but, increasingly, state legislatures have decided that

decisions will be subject to regulation and punishment by the government. we saw the video of the missouri father, does he sound like a radical, who was trying anxiously to experiment with this child's future? not to me. he sound like a father resisted analogy the real condition of his child until he realized he was wrong. i am sure that it was a painful labor process, and journey. but he is convinced he did the right thing for his daughter. regulating the age when a young person can purchase a tattoo or car is one thing. but, making a decision that could affect the mental health of an individual should be viewed differently. it brings me to another reminder. as a member of this committee, we also have a responsibility to engage in civil discourse. a spirited debate is a sign of healthy democracy, we should not tolerate language that

disparages anyone. i would like to close by saying it is natural to be confused by what we do not know. today, most americans do not personally know anyone who identifies as transgender. my hope is that this hearing is a chance to reveal the truth, like the rest of the lgbt community, transgender americans are our neighbors, colleagues, our fellow citizens. they have the same dreams and all of us share. lgbt americans are asking for no more and no less than the full freedom to live who they are. with that, i will go to the opening statements. >> thank you, mr. che. certainly, what you said about the way we conduct ourselves. emotional topic, important topic to talk about. there are definitely two sides to every story and there are two sides to the story. you characterize those people, concerned about minors having puberty blocking drugs and surgeries, that's far right.

that's not true. i think there are whiter people in this country very much worried about where we are as a nation. particularly when it comes to young girls having to compete against biological males. title ix was passed in 1972, to ensure that women would have a place in college athletics, specifically division cdliii. some generate revenue, most don't. but, most of the directors would say, that it really makes the college experience better to support women athletics at that level. the theater program, for the olympics, universal cdlxiii. most of that, came from the stress they had in college. this desire to be leveling the playing field in 1972 was bipartisan. so, now, we have an assault, i think, in year mcmlxxii. and,

they created a constitutional right, same-sex marriage. and, legislation, you talked about. we did not talk about that here. we are talking about addressing the father. the guy on the missouri side. the house or senate. he was worried about something being taken away from him. that is a good concept remember. the rights of warren should be upheld and cherished, but there are limits the whites of one group, versus the other. one individual versus the other individual. your rights have to be balanced against other people's rights. you will never convince me that

if biological male who swam three years on the men's team and transitions to the senior year, that was fair. and this, we will talk about. this is going on all of the country. young women are working hard within their particular sport, and on occasion, they're having to compete against a biological male who is deciding to transition and the evidence, i think, was pretty damning, common sense, there's an advantage, at the limbic level, you have to take certain tests for testosterone and estrogen and other tests that take to compete in women's sports. because there is a disadvantage . and, i believe this to be going to the 2024 cycle and the question before, one of the questions is, is it okay for the state to ban the transitions

of a minor? i think it is. i think the state has every interest in protecting minor children, in regarding a medical procedure that is life altering. i find it curious that in europe, -- they are beginning to pause, pump the brakes, and slow down laws that would allow minors to be transitioned. because, the evidence is suggesting that it is probably not the best thing to do, and they are taking a cautionary note, which makes america the outlier. is the title of this article behind me. so, today, we are going to hear both sides of the story. democratic friends, if they could, would stop every state

in the country from having laws regarding minors being transitioned. i think if that's your position, pretty much, i'm on your side. and on our side, we believe the states have every right to do that in my state, they are going down that road. so, i'm in the right state. and, as we celebrate the 1972 title ix act reaching 50 years, we live in a time where the entire concept of title ix is very much at risk. we are not thinking about >> we are talking about what are the -- if any, when it comes to minors, and what is fair? to all of us. thank you.

>> thank you, senator graham. i will introduce the majority witness and ask mr. graham to -- ms. walker is 16 years old from auburn, alabama. she is here with her dad. she -- in her home state and nationwide. we also have dr. ximena lopez . dr. lopez is a pediatric endocrinologist at a children's medical center in dallas, texas, an associate professor of pediatrics and the pediatrics -- at ut southwestern. our final witness is kelly robinson. from chicago is the president of the human rights campaign and the first black queer woman to lead the organization. >> thank you.

matt sharp -- defending freedom in atlanta, georgia. is the director of the center of -- and special counsel at the alliance. his role, mr. sharp focuses on stating local legislative matters, providing legal analysis and testimony, proposed legislation would -- and constitutional freedom. he's advised governors, legislators, policy organizations on the importance of protecting first amendment rights. -- vanderbilt, university school alone. riley gaines is the spokesperson for independent women's voice. ms. riley gaines defends single-sex spaces for women, advocates for equality, stands up for women safety. she is a former 12 time all- american swimmer from the university of kentucky and has been a -- biological males participating in women's sports. she has challenge the rules of

various sports leagues and about women's spaces and encourage other female athletes to join her cause. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator graham. here is what we will do. we will swear in the witnesses and each of them, five minutes for the statement then -- then i will ask the witnesses to please stand and raise your right hand. do you affirm the testimony you give will be the truth the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you god? let the record reflect that all answers have been to the affirmative and we will start with harleigh walker. ms. walker, the floor is yours. >> good morning. my name is harleigh walker, my pronouns are she/her, and i'm 16 years old from alabama. i want to take you all -- of the transmission. i want to share what my journey

is likened to clear up some of this false information that ever coming out of congress and state legislator, including the alabama state legislature. there has been so much misinformation shared around what it means to be a transgender person and what healthcare looks like for trans youth. most of what i have been hearing is inaccurate or best or just -- by qualified medical professionals. growing up, i had a great childhood. loving family and friends. i just felt like selling is different for me. between 10 and 11, i told my peers i believed i was transgender. nobody pushed me to become transgender. no one suggested, for scale or influence me to be trance, because it is not a choice. i knew that this is who i was. after i came out, my parents were doing the absolute best they could to support me, took me to our local pediatrician. he sat down with us and referred us to medical professionals in our state that could best treat me. he never once pushed an agenda onto me. instead, he listened to me, his patient, and by stall us on how i could get the best healthcare for my situation.

the team of specialists that he referred us to were incredible. they focus on getting to know me, understanding my specific case, getting to know my parents, and figuring out how to best care for me, as a patient. they advise us at no point with a talk about surgery on a minor. it was not something they even discussed. they never pushed any agenda. instead, one of the things that they got to me and my parents is that if i ever decided to stop or change my mind, that it was okay and they would support me, no matter what. this is the opposite of what i hear in the news and in the legislatures. it makes me wonder why legislators think they can tell my parents and my doctors that i can't get the care i need to be happy and healthy. i want all of you to look at me here now and hear my words. i am a very happy 16-year-old girl. i have wonderful friends who accept me for who i fully am and i am active in my school

debate team and other curricular activities. i love to travel, i enjoy concerts and music like taylor swift and listening to my record collection in my room. i get all a's in school and i'm looking forward to college. i'm not miserable in my life. i am not depressed. i'm just trying to being a teenager in america. same as any other teen. but i keep having to jump through hoops that other people don't have to. i keep having to spend spring break lobbying for my rights to exist for my friends are on vacation. i am here in this committee, instead of on my summer vacation, just to ensure that my right to exist is not taken away. in alabama, not one lawmaker is willing to sit down with me and my parents to talk about what it's really like to be transgender. instead, they push rhetoric like transgender people are being groomed by our parents, which is nonsense. in support of these laws, my governor has decided to say horrible things about me and those like me my stay. i would love for you to imagine a moment if these were made about you or your kids. how would this make you feel? what would you do to protect your kids from these harmful laws and statements? if you are me, would you want to stay in the state where the people who were elected to

represent you and make sure that you have a safe place to live, and instead talk about your family this way? i live only a few miles from the best college of my stay but it can even consider going there because of the continued attacks against me and my community. i've had him do a lot of thinking. alabama was one of the -- but because of the new laws that have been passed across the nation and because we don't have the equality act to help protect me from discrimination, i have had to start looking at colleges very far away from where i was born and raised. i parents say this break their heart. they can't stand the thought of their kid being so far away where they can help me if i needed them. this time, discrimination will make me have to where i live or work is not designed to protect or help me. i want you to understand that discrimination makes me unsafe. this journey is not easy. as a first begin my transition, there was an incredible amount of bullying in my middle school. so much so that my parents decided i needed to go to online school. not because i wanted to, but

the bullying got so bad, it was getting close to violence and the school was doing nothing about it. we worked with the school and i eventually got to go back, but kids should not feel helpless at school against being bullied or discriminated against is because their difference. leaders in our state and country have the ability to help . however, so many have decided to promote that same bullying and discrimination. despite all this, despite being called a demon, a monster, or other despicable things, i love my life. i love my family, i love my friends, and i am happy. i am asking for you to help us stop using the transgender community as a political pond. please stop attacking our lives for votes, or money. help us communicate that they are impacting people's lives in the pursuit of happiness. we are just like your kid, your neighbor, and you. we also deserve the ability to be happy. thank you. >> exactly 5 minutes. thank you, harleigh walker. mr. sharp. >> good morning, chairman,

ranking members, i'm master, america is a beautifully diverse and tolerant country. people from various walks of life, with different beliefs and values, peacefully live and work together and care for one another. because we recognize the inherent dignity and worth that is in doubt upon each of us by our creator. the hope center in anchorage alaska embodies these ideals by serving everyone in the community, no matter how they identify. the center provides women and men with meals, clothes, and job skill -- and at night, provides a women's shelter for -- and abusive situations. one night, a man who identifies as a woman try to gain access to the women's shelter. he was drunk and injured, but the hope center staff wanted to help. so they paid for a cab to take them into a local hospital to get him the care he needed. rather than applauding this act of charity, city officials accused the hope center of violating the gender identity ordnance and demanded that men be allowed to sleep -- to speed away from would victimize

women. this is just -- that promote violate women's rights, endanger children, -- many of the federal government -- we see the ministration push down law unlawful -- this policy demand that they indoctrinate students in gender ideologies and even hide mental health struggles from the parents. allowing males to pass -- this exposes physical injury and deprives them of the chance to compete, and even earned college scholarships. subs require that women facilities, locker rooms, women's dorms, and filters like the hope center be open to men, violating women's and -- these policies are being used again students like leah morrison, sm greater in massachusetts.

liam was punished when he wore shirt sibley thing there are only two genders to peacefully share the truth about what it means to be male and female. in punishing him, the school mandated that students embrace its views on gender ideology and censored any dissent such a viewpoint -- to the first amendment. and for years, state and local governments have miss you'd -- to course people who serve everyone, regardless of who they are to speak messages with which they disagree on pain of investigation, fines, and even jail time. for example, colorado officials are misusing a state law to answer lori smith, owner of website six 303 creative and require her to create designs that violate her sincere beliefs about marriage. lori, who is awaiting a decision right now from the u.s. supreme court, is hoping the court will uphold the freedom of all americans to speak with a believe without fear of government punishment. perhaps the most troubling campaign is the push to give

dangerous and potentially irreversible -- two children. puberty blockers and hormones put children on a one-way street to see the harm healthy bodies, turn children into lifelong -- and irreparably deprive children of becoming natural parents later in life. all with no proven long-term benefits to the child compared with safer mental health treatments. after seeing the poor outcomes and continuing high suicide rates to those -- many of the european countries that pioneered these procedures began correcting their mistake. the reverse course to privatize psychotherapy over drugs and a basis sterilizing surgeries. yet despite the totality of the best evidence and europe's example, government officials are ignoring the signs and pressuring parents to support the harmful medicalization of children. knowing this, congress should reject policies like the misnamed equality act to push a government mandated view of --

and have devastating consequences for children, women, charitable organizations and all americans. they are unnecessary, unjust, and the road the true tolerance of different views that is the hallmark of our great nation. thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. sharp. dr. lopez. >> good morning. dear senators, thank you for the opportunity of being able to speak at this judiciary committee. i am here today representing myself and not my place of work, hospital, or institution. i am a pediatrician trained in pediatric endocrinology. i have been providing gender affirming care to transgender youth for more than 10 years in texas. i have also published scientific research that shows that gender affirming care improves the psychological well- being of transgender youth. i am here today to be the voice of my patients and their parents. in texas and in other states,

bills spanning gender affirming care are pass, the lives and future of transgender youth are at risk. the parents of my patients are debating whether to flee their states a miss high financial and family costs. the effects of misinformation that led to this bill are having a chilling effects beyond healthcare access. my patients and their parents are suffering from discrimination at school, at church, at social gatherings, everywhere. many families are unable to leave the state and are pulling their children out of school and isolating them, living in hiding. the general public should know that a campaign of misinformation has falsely demonized healthcare for transgender adolescents. it's based on more than two decades of research and clinical practice and is accepted as established medical care by every leading medical

organization in this country, including the american academy of pediatrics, the american medical association, and many others. there is no professional medical association involved in the care of transgender youth that opposes this care. gender affirming care does not involve surgery in minors and at no medical interventions are provided before the age of puberty. gender affirming care consists of puberty suppression after the onset of puberty, which then may be followed by homeward therapy at later adolescence. in accordance to the endocrine society, the american academy of pediatrics, and the world professional association for transgender health, this treatment can be medically necessary in life saving. this care is based on a careful, individualized assessment of adolescence. it's significant and persistent with gender dysphoria, which, when left untreated, predictably, king create -- suicidality and other negative

physical and mental health effects. in contrast, research has shown that when this use receives the medical care they need, they can thrive. this care is not pushed by doctors or parents. it is a highly complex decision that involves mental health providers. it includes assessing the stability of the gender identity over time, the maturity of the adolescent to consent to treatment. most important, the parents they see in the practice, which is true to practitioners, come from albrecht jones, all backgrounds. they receive -- often have no mental health issues and they thrive. i also want to speak up on behalf of science and medicine. and my colleagues. gender health providers and hospitals are being attacked by extremists. politicians are deciding how medical care should look like with this regard of patients,

parents, science, experts, and legitimate medical societies. banning this care also risks the advancement of this medical field and its research. this is a dangerous precedent for our society as a whole and harms us all. banning gender affirming care interferes with the ethical principles of medicine, which includes patient autonomy and do no harm and to do provide the best treatment available. physicians are being left to decide whether they should violate their medical ethics or break the law. i ask that the complex medical decision of whether to receive gender affirming care is left to parents, patients, and their health providers. thank you for the opportunity to speak and be heard today. >> thank you, dr. lopez. ms. gaines ? >> good morning, senators. >> good morning, senators. my name is riley gaines , i'm an adviser for --.

i proudly finish my career as a 12 time ncaa all-american, a five-time s.e.c. american camping, making the one the fast americans of all time, a two-time olympic -- s.e.c. scholar athlete of the year and s.e.c. community service leader of the year but all of that to say it's a lifelong journey competing at that level and it's impossible to put into words the amount of sacrifice and dedication that it takes. on march 17th of 2022, my teammates and i, as well as fema swimmers from universities around the country were forced to compete against biological male leah thomas. thomas was allowed to compete after competing as a member of the university of pennsylvania men's team as will thomas. we watch on the side of the pool as thomas went to a national title in the 500 freestyle, beating of the most impressive and a commish female swimmers in the country,

including many olympians and american record holders. by body length. briefly, thomas had been ranked 462nd at best in the men's division the year prior. the next day, i raced thomas in the 200 freestyle, which ended up in a tie. we were the exact same time down to 100 of a second. having only one trophy, they ended -- i to go home and he handed and when asked why, which was a question they were not prepared to be asked, i actually appreciate their honesty because they said thomas was crucial had it for picture purposes. thomas had to have it for the pictures. i felt betrayed. i felt belittled. i felt reduced to a photo op. but my feelings did not matter. what mattered to the ncaa were the feelings of a biological male. in 1972, congress enacted title ix -- all aspects of education, including college ethics. but by allowing thomas to display >> athletes in the pool and on the podium, the ncaa intentionally -- -- its policies inflict which were the

very female athletes title ix was passed to protect. but that is not all. in addition to being forced to give up our titles and opportunities, the insulin doubly forced -- to share locker room with thomas, a six foot 422-year-old male equipped with and exposing male . let me be clear about this. we were not forewarned we would be sharing a locker room. nobody asked for our consent and we did not give our consent. i will set the scene as a swimming locker room is not a place of modesty. you are undressing. you are fully exposed and we were forced to take off our swimsuit in front of a man who was doing the exact same thing. if nothing else, i can see how you -- and some of us have felt uncomfortable, embarrassed, and even traumatized by this experience. i know that i don't speak for

every single person who competed against leah thomas but i know i speak for many as i saw the tears. i saw the tears from the ninth and 17th place finishers who missed out being named an all- american in one place and i can attest to the extreme discomfort in the locker room when you, from these 18 to 22- year-old girls when you turn around and there's male eyes watching in that same room and i can attest to the whispers and the grumbles of anger and frustration from these girls who just like myself had worked our entire lives to get to this meet. i can attest to the fact that around the country, the >> athletes who oppose the inclusion of leah thomas in the women's division were threatened, intimidated, and emotionally blackmailed into silence and submission. but unfortunately, our expenses are not unique. the number of female athletes who have been denied opportunities, traumatized, or hurt by policies that claim to promote inclusion is growing at an alarming rate. i hear these female athletes and their parents, and from these people who are seriously injured, one with permanent

injuries that will plague the rest of her life because she was forced to compete against a much physically stronger man. this is unacceptable and the integrity of women's sports is lost. it's unfair. it's discriminatory and it must stop. women's rights to privacy are being encroached upon. sports, sororities, labyrinths, dorms, shelters, prisons. some have tried -- of speaking up for women safety and -- trans phobic or bigoted and this is untrue. i have heard from people within this community, -- they should not be asked to step aside for male bodied individuals, no matter how they identified. defending women's rights is not anti-anyone. believing in biology is not bigoted, and following the signs that there only two sexes and that there are very real and important -- is not hateful. it's factored i will end with a quote very briefly from tennis legend, there will always be significant numbers of boys and

men who would be to the best girls and women in head-to-head competition. claims to the contrary are simply a denial of science. i thank you guys for listening and i truly hope you heard my story. >> baker, gaines. ms. robinson, >> chairman, ranking member graham, my name is kelly robinson. i use she/her pronouns. i'm proud to be serving as president of the human rights campaign, the largest -- working to achieve fully equality for lesbian, gay , by, transgender community. i come here with the same message. the lgbt people of the united states are living in a state of emergency. this is not an exaggeration. this is not a traumatization. more than 525 anti-tran04 bills have been introduced this year in the states. more than 220 of those bills target the transgender community. many are targeting children,

transgender children, and more than 75 of those anti-lgbtq+ bills have now become law. this includes laws that banned books and sensor curriculum in the classroom. this includes laws that forbid children from being able to safely use the bathroom at school and laws that criminalize doctors from providing life-saving gender affirming healthcare. the purpose of these laws is to facilitate a rise in political extremism by alienating and isolating lgbtq+ americans. the impact of these laws is truly alarming. there are now more violence against lgbtq+ americans than ever before with mass shootings in rc spaces. murders of transgender people. threats from the proud boys, other groups that the southern poverty law center has designated as extremist. there is now more anxiety and depression among lgbtq+ children. data from our most recent survey of teens shows that these laws are making young

people feel unsafe and can prevent them from seeing the full future for themselves. there are also more conversations among family about whether to stay where they live if it's safe for their children. a mother of two transgender teens who is deciding -- told me simply, we have accepted that this state is not safe. it is like a war zone. in every county you represent, and every company -- you will find parents and children, teachers and nurses, community leaders and small business owners who are afraid that the rise in legislative assault and the political extremism is put a target on their backs. such fear has no place in the united states of america. that is why, for the first time in hrc's nearly half-century history, we have declared this state of emergency. we have also issued a guidebook to help lgbtq+ americans stay safe . the new anti-tran04 laws and a report that details the impact of these laws for

advocates, policymakers, and the media. i have submitted both into the record. chairman, ranking member graham, members of the committee, we need you to help answer this state of emergency with a sense of urgency. today, the senators will introduce the equality act would which would make -- for lgbtq+ -- and in that time, lgbtq+ members of the military have served openly. marriage equality has been codified in federal law and more lgbtq+ members have been elected than ever before. furthermore today, more than eight in 10 americans support comprehensive nondiscrimination laws for lgbtq+ people. it's time for congress to catch up with where our country already is and pass the equality act. i want to conclude today by saying that although this is a state of emergency, i believe that we still live in a land of

infinite possibility. a nation that prides itself on progress. for every tennessee, there is a minnesota which has recently passed a statewide ban on so- called conversion therapy. for every florida, there is a michigan, which recently became the 22nd state and make lgbtq+ nondiscrimination law. for every texas, there is a pennsylvania, which is on the cusp of becoming the 23rd state to do so. for every defense of marriage act, there is a respect for marriage act. and for every extremist, there are many, many, many more americans who support lgbtq+ rights . our nation is greater than all of this eight and we must take action now to end this emergency insecure equality for every american. without exception. >> thank you, ms. robinson. we will now start the five- minute round. i will begin. lindsey graham is my friend in my colleague. we see things differently and we still get along, which i

think is the nature of good work in congress, at least i hope it is. i would say to him it's interesting to me that you cannot put a nominee for the supreme court of the united states at that table and they all sit there without that person expecting a question as to whether or not they are going to be influenced by foreign laws. well, you look at laws and other countries, are you going to stick with american? the american. we have references to europe as the standard bearer, in terms of where america should go for its future. secondly, if we are called an outlier in that headline, guilty as charged. america has always been an outlier. a written constitution for over 200 years, a bill of rights that people can depend on, we are out leers. no one can make that same claim. i would just start with the premise, i love europe, i love the europeans, but we are americans.

when it comes to decisions as basic as the rights of our individual citizens, and freedoms, i think we have a pretty good starting point with the constitution and bill of rights. i would ask you, dr. lopez. there have been references made here to whether or not your professional and what you have done with your life in the last 10 years is an outlier itself. that, in fact, you are not doing what is mainstream medicine in america. how do you respond to that? >> that is not true. the type of care that i provide , gender affirming care, is the mainstream standard of care, best practice, recommended by all legitimate medical societies in the united states and across the world. as i said in my opening statement, we have a clinical experience of more than 20 years and a robust body of evidence that supports this treatment as life-saving, decreasing

depression and anxiety. there are no other studies that support any other treatment. this is the mainstream treatment. >> and accepted by the american medical association and the american academy of pediatrics as well? >> correct. >> is there any other major medical association that opposes this form of care? >> no. >> that speaks for itself. we are talking about science and medicine versus a political spin on the issue. i want to say i am old enough to remember the debate on the equal rights amendment 50 years ago. the fears, if we pass the equal rights amendment, women will be serving in combat. you know what? women are serving in combat because they want to serve in combat and we need them. if we pass the equal rights amendment, we are going to have men and women sharing the same

bathrooms have you been to restaurants with all gender bathrooms? i have seen quite them frequently in chicago. i've sure you have seen them to. when i listen to ms. gaines, there is a fundamental call for justice in your statement. i understand it. we had to be able to work that out as a nation and not at the expense of harleigh walker . that's -- moving forward. dr. lopez, you said and i want to make sure it's on the record clearly that accepted medical practice in this field does not provide for surgery for use. is that correct? >> surgery is not recommended for minors. that is the standard of care. >> in terms of hormone therapy, that's not administered until after puberty? >> that is recommended in adolescence. >> if you went forward with any

surgery at any point or even medications that we are talking, has a been your practice to involve the parents of the young person involved? >> that is the standard of care. parents, all legal guardians of parents have to consent to the treatment. that is part of the medical decision-making is to involve the parents and discuss the risk and benefits like with any type of medical treatment at the end of the day, it is the parents that consent to the treatment. >> miss robinson, you have noted the resurgence, if you will, of anti-tran04 legislation across the country. a lot of it is focused on transgender issues, but not exclusively, when you look at the body of legislation. what else is coming up in this state legislature that concerns you? >> we are concerned about bathroom bills re-emerging, not moving forward, explicit nondiscrimination protections with communities and so much

more. for me, what's even more concerning is the violent rhetoric that surrounds every introduction of a bill. it's contributing to the fact that one in five of every hate crime is now motivated by anti- tran04 bias. this is an urgent problem facing our community and creating fear and isolation, even with the bills are not passed into law. >> thank you. senator graham? >> thank you, mr. chairman. ms. robinson, the state laws that you reference regarding -- you think they are driven by hate, ignorance? what is causing this? >> we know that these are part of well-funded -- like the alliance to defend -- are part of that. >> you think is driven by hate? >> i think it's driven by a well-funded group of opposition. >> i didn't ask you where they get the money. i think it's -- >> i think it's driven by power. i think there's a move to

control people and our bodies for the sake of power. i don't -- >> just for power, right? >> excuse me? >> you don't think these are hateful people that are doing this? >> i think this is about power but i do think, as the bills are moving forward, they are creating a culture of pay and i have to say, again, every time we see the introduction of these bills, they are accompanied with violent, online campaigns that call mike -- >> rumors and pedophiles. >> i want to tell you that violent rhetoric has no place in this debate or any debate. ms. gaines , what is the average day like for a young lady trying to compete at the level you computed like in terms of training? >> i started swimming when i was four years old. i dedicated 18 years of my life to my sport, which includes your sport specific training, swimming, but also weightlifting, also your diet, also your sleep schedule, not to mention the social sacrifices you have to make. at the collegiate level, we were swimming in the water every single day for six hours. three of those hours being

before 8 a.m. use practice from 5:00 to 8:00 and go to class, you come back to practice, you swim from one: 30 to 4:30 we ate dinner at 5:00 as we were starving, eat dinner, do your homework, eyes or shoulder, go to bed, wake up, do it all the next day. we were summing over 10 miles on average every single day. >> dr. lopez. do you believe that leah thomas lia thomas had an advantage in swimming because she was a biological male who transitioned sometime late in college? >> i am not a sports medicine physician. i can only relate to the stand of sports medicine -- >> what do they say? >> they do not recommend the

exclusion of transgender exclusion. >> do they believe it's fair for lia thomas, who spent three years swimming for the men's team in the senior year of college to compete in the women's division, they think that's okay? >> as a medical professional i don't have the scientific expertise to provide an opinion. >> let me tell you as a person. you don't need a medical -- this is not okay. this is definitely not okay . you work all your life training and as a swimmer, competing against biological girls, you wind up a senior in college, competing with somebody who, three years, swim as a guy. and you lose. ms. robinson, do 80% of americans support biological males competing in women's athletics? >> i can say more than 70% of americans believe that the -- attacks sees the --

>> it's a simple question. do 80% of americans support -- >> what i can't verify that but what i can -- >> what i can tell you is not even close. there is nothing wrong with you if you have a problem with ms. gaines feeling cheated . there's nothing wrong with you if you have a problem with ms. gaines feeling uncomfortable in a locker room. there is nothing wrong with you. we will sort this out as a nation, but this idea that something is wrong with her because she feels cheated is absurd. you have every right to feel that way and i imagine a lot of young ladies do feel uncomfortable being in a locker room in a situation she described. mr. sharp. what is the purpose of your organization and what is your message to america?

>> senator, we want to protect the freedom of all americans, and that includes our desire to -- that they are not harmed by this gender ideology that's being pushed. that each of us is free to speak -- because of our good faith belief. >> do you think the experience that you had in the dressing room is something that young girls throughout the country share your views? >> i get messages every single day from girls of all over the political spectrum. this is not politics for me. in a real-life issue, i want to put it on record. i don't believe trans-athletes should be banned from sports. that the rhetoric being pushed from the opposition. anti-trans bills, trans- athletes should not be -- i just want everyone to -- and i don't see how that's overly controversial.

but yes. especially at the ncaa championships, every single girl , at least on my team, being a team captain. there were 30 girls on my team, we all felt the same way. we all felt uncomfortable in that locker room >> thank you. >> senator? >> thank you, senator, and then you to all of our witnesses today for sharing our stories. let me talk initially to ms. walker if i could. thank you, as a parent of three children myself, i can only imagine how proud your parents must be of your poison your advocacy. and thank you for sharing with us that you are a straight a student and participating in school and happy. it is a difficult thing to insert yourself. i can feel your -- you feel he can no longer safely do so in your home state.

i just don't think that's right. and i think someday soon, we may be in a place where a young people can search other college dreams without having to worry about whether they are in a state that affirms them or not. you mentioned something about, this is not an ideology that has been pushed on you. could you just help us for a moment understand, you described consulting closely with your parents then with your physician to make a decision about your future that reflects who you are and how you were created. can you just help us understand that a little bit further, ms. walker? >> yes so like i said, when i was about 11 years old, i was doing research on the lgbtq community and i came across the term transgender. i always knew that i was different when i was growing up so i came to my parents with -- saying that i think i am

transgender. at first, we didn't really know what that meant. we were not super educated on the issue because, you know, at that time it was not a big public issue. so whenever we went to our doctors, they were all incredibly supportive and they never were telling me what i should do the entire first couple of visits, they were just listening to me, listening to my story, who i was, what i thought was best for me and what they could do to help me. it wasn't, you need to start these puberty blockers immediately. you have to do all this to identify as transgender because everyone's journey is different. they just wanted to do what was best for me and they listen to me to make sure that that was what i wanted to do. >> thank you. dr. lopez, one of the things you mentioned was the importance of close consultation with parents. in making a decision about gender affirming care. can you just briefly speak to the role that parents play in

your practice in gender affirming care? >> it's a highly complex decision. is not easy for any parent from any background. most parents are not well informed when this happens to them. it takes a lot of time and effort to meet with different types of professionals when the health providers go discuss risks and benefits and potential alternatives, which is what should be done for any type of medical treatment. >> what sort of impact you see on the mental and physical health of your patients in a state where there is a ban imposed on that sort of care or on books or on discussions in schools? does that have any impact whatsoever? >> i am very, very worried. that is the reason i am here. i am here because i am very

worried for the mental health of my patients. the ones that i see in my clinic, which are supported by their parents and receiving gender affirming care are thriving and if that is taken away from them, then i am sure there mental health will worsen. not only because the treatment that helps them is taken away, but also because there is a feeling of stigma and discrimination that has been created around them and as i say, they are debating whether to leave or hide and it's really devastating. >> mr. sharp, if i make. in your written testimony, you criticize schools for trying to replace parents as the ultimate determinants of what is best for their children. when it comes to things like teaching about lgbtq rights and issues. but if i understand you correctly from your spoken money, you also think parents should be barred from making medical care decisions about their own children.

in the case of gender affirming care, as described by dr. lopez. which one is it? our parents in charge of what is in the best interest of their children or not? >> thank you. we do support of the right of parents. parents can consent to things that can be damaging and harmful. that's why when the european countries, they are looking at the science. this about following the signs and they do so. they find that there is not evidence of medical transition producing good outcomes versus the mental health counseling and that's what we want to prioritize. parents can choose among the psychotherapy counseling and other options to help children dealing with gender dysphoria. >> thank you. just in conclusion, dr. lopez. your testimony was that the american medical associate and the american -- as an option for children and their parents to choose in consultation with physicians. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> how do you reconcile with what mr. sharp has said about

the you eu or the national -- that are relevant to this care? >> for small, no country in europe has banned gender affirming care. they have taken steps to make sure that there is a cautious approach when deciding eligibility for gender affirming care and actually, the steps they have taken are very similar to what is the standard of care practices recommended by the endocrine society, which does recommend a very careful comprehensive lengthy assessment before deciding that this is the best care for the patients and there is no single research study that shows that psychological therapy, as mentioned by dr. sharp, is enough to resolve gender dysphoria and mental health issues that transgender people can have. >> thank you.

thank you all for your testimony today point >> thank you, >> thank you. thank you for your courage. encouraged being today. thank you for courage and advocacy for women. you have been subjected to an unbelievable amount of abuse. you talk about intimidation, threats of violence. you have suffered it. i want to put up your pictures so evelyn can see it. this was the welcome you were treated to at san francisco state university just a couple of months ago when a mob assembled where you were supposed to speak. i believe for over three hours, screamed, threatened you. do have that basically correct? >> yes, i was held for ransom for 3 1/2 hours by hundreds of these protesters you see on the board. the law enforcement in san francisco, i respect and i think law enforcement is what's brave but not me.

the law enforcement i was met with in-laws in my opinion, failed miserably. effectively doing their job. >> effectiveness for moving me from situation. >> why were you threatened and held for ransom for hours on end? what were they saying that was so terrible? >> i was invited to speak on my experience in his senior year. nothing opinionated about what i share. i spoke after my speech, there was a lot of -- which i'm totally fine with. so they rushed into the room,

they turned off the lights. they rush to the front. myself and others were assaulted and that is ultimately what i was held for 3 1/2 hours. >> unbelievable thank you so much for your encouragement let's talk about the -- >> nobody sitting at the table and certainly -- have the experience that she has had. just the incredible surprise, shall i say to put it gently of finding a biological man, a 6'4" biological man in your locker room and having to accept that without being asked about it without being told about even. what was that like for you? >> again, we were only unaware -- had to see a man while we were simultaneously undressing. and so i immediately left their locker room and i went to the

officials and is in one of the guidelines to allow a man into the locker room. under the guidelines of the competition but what are the guidelines for the locker room. and he is so nonchalantly said back we actually got around this by making locker rooms unisex. something you myself in these brief moments, first and foremost, you just admitted this is a male by acknowledging you had to change her rules to make the locker rooms unisex. you acknowledge that we do not share the same , first and foremost. secondly, unisex? any man could've walked into our locker room? any coach, any official? any man who wanted to would have had full reins to an bare minimum we were not forewarned about it? that is the traumatizing part. i think, for me, it was so easy for them to dismiss our rights to privacy. senator, in your opening statement you mentioned his rhetoric. you had mentioned that what

message does it send to trans individuals? my combat is what does the center women, two young girls, who are denied of these opportunities? so easily, their rights to privacy and safety thrown out of the window to protect a small population, protect one group as long as they are happy? what about us? that's the overall general consensus of how we all felt in that locker room. >> why you think it is that the ncaa and so many feel -- i know that recently, you just posted this to social media about -- that harbored, adding to its swimmers don't talk about lia thomas. don't share your opinions. if you get contact by a member of the media, then refer that to the university. don't say anything for heaven sake. tell us about this. this is been your experience over and over . you were told

as a woman to shut up. don't say anything. what is that like? >> that is continually happening. if we do speak up, you're immediately labeled as some name. they will call you everything under the sun, whether it's transferable, homophobic, racist, white supremacist, domestic terrorist. they will throw them all you in hopes to deter you in hopes to silence you. lia thomas his teammates, they were forced every single week to go to mandatory education meetings to learn about how just by being as gender, they are oppressing lia thomas. they were told they were not allowed to take a stance because the school has already taken a stance with them. they were told you'll never get a job, you'll never get to grad school, you will lose your friends, you will lose your scholarship and playing time. they told -- whether that's through that you are solely responsible and you could be responsible for potential death, and you don't want that, do you? who would ever want to be responsible in a potential death. that is the emotional blackmail that is plaguing this country, especially in universities. >> i will be done with this,

she said this publicly. they are using the guys of feminism, usually you. using the guys of feminism to push trans phobic beliefs, musing you, advocating for women, advocating women's rights, it's just a cover for trans phobia. do you want to -- >> feminism is not a fluid term. the original, and the meaning of what it means to be a feminist is to uphold respect, honor, embrace, and celebrate women on our own physical ceilings. our own uniqueness. that term has not changed. what this really is, as a male, mansplaining what it is. which i think it's pretty ironic. >> thank you, senator holly. i would just like to add something for the record.

there is no evidence that transgender athletes are an issue at certain levels of sports. no transgender female athlete has ever won an olympic medal in olympic sports, though the international olympic committee has allowed transgender athletes to compete since 2004. 2004. 19 barry -- one non-binary assigned female at birth 1a and olympic in soccer in 2021. next senator. >> think so much, mr. chair. i'm going to turn to you, mr. robinson, and talk about something that i think is important, given my background as a prosecutor that we don't forget and that is a attack we have seen, an unprecedented number of attacks on lgbtq americans. we know that lgbtq americans continue to face violent attacks and there is hateful

rhetoric dehumanizing them and that is one of the controlling factors this year, the fbi found that crimes motivated by bias against lgbtq people represented 20% of all reported hate crimes. this is close to my heart because when i was a prosecutor, i was -- i have never even -- the white house president clinton was president and he introduced the hate crimes bill and i got to meet the family of matthew shepard they were there along with the police who investigated the case and i think that was a moment for america that slipped how people thought about things and realize he was just pursuing his own life and ended up as the investigators -- a scarecrow, can you talk about what trends you are seeing in lgbtq hate crimes and why don't

you answer that first? >> the reality is scary. we are sitting here, seven years since the pulse nightclub shooting, were 49 clubs lives were stolen, and just -- so five lies from the community. this uptake of violence is real but said already. one in five of every hate crime is motivated by anti-lgbtq+ bias. the other reality we know that is true is that these bad bills targeting the community are often accompanied by campaigns of misinformation and lies that so fear in transphobia into the communities. the very fact that we cannot identify lia thomas as a transgender woman is playing into the fear and anxiety of these hate crimes. i talk about them being -- because of the bomb threat they received. i talked to drag queens were being confronted by proud boys with ar 15's outside of drag queens story hours. this epidemic is real and requires action, both legislative and cultural and

stopping this ability for people to just spout lies about our community. >> thank you. >> you mentioned minnesota in your opening remarks and i think what we have seen over the last few decades, we have seen progress in the fight for equality, the bipartisan group that worked on the respect for marriage act, led by senator baldwin. we so appreciated her work and how she worked with people on both sides of the aisle to get that done. half of lgbtq adults still experience discrimination based on their identity. can you talk about the equality acts, why it's important, and specifically the piece places where they can be denied a home, sibley because of who they are? is that correct? >> absolutely. there are -- it have explicit

nondiscrimination on the books for the lgbtq plus community. i could go to a restaurant in texas and been denied -- because i'm married to a woman. it means that some members can experience -- in housing, and getting access to federally funded colleges and programs. this is really a crisis. we need to make clear in this country, there is not a patchwork of -- every american deserves equal access to civil -- the equal -- the equality act will move forward that into law. >> and i know there's major companies supporting the bill, there's been a lot of support for it. one other question along those lines, are there still places in the u.s. where and lgbtq person can be denied a loan even because of who they are? >> yes. there are. >> okay. very good. could you talk about some of the progress you mentioned. minnesota, but some of the

progress that has been made in states on a state-by-state basis, which i think shows how, in fact, there are a whole lot of people out there who support the work of hrc and bills and state versions of bills like the equality act? i know that my stay, as you mentioned, has been a leader. we were a leader on antidiscrimination from the very beginning in 1993. we began protecting lgbtq people against workplace discrimination. we were the first state in the nation to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity. so, could you talk about progress? >> absolutely. there has been incredible progress for our community. if i look back 20 or 25 years, 60% of americans oppose same- sex marriage. now, nearly 80% supported and

the respect for marriage act is the law of the land. that change because we were able to serve openly in the military. that change because we were able to tell the stories of our lives and show what our love looked like. that change because now the majority of americans know someone who is lesbian, gay, or bi. we need to make sure that we are not letting people's lack of visibility seed into fear, and instead, tell the stories about trans women, tell the stories about trans men. show the story like harleigh walker's , that these are just americans who are trying to live. that is what we are fighting for. >> okay. and thank you to all the witnesses. i wish i could ask all questions but my colleagues are waiting. thank you. >> thank you, senator. senator blackburn peers >> think you, mr. chairman. and thank you to each of you for taking your time to be here today. we certainly appreciate that and riley, i want to come see you. riley is a tennessean and we

are so incredibly proud of her work. and the job that she is doing one thing that i have noticed repeatedly is this intent they have continued to push forward here, erasing the word woman. you know in tennessee, i talk a lot about the lady vaults. i -- a great basketball team such great history. and that, how important it has been to young girls. when i talk to girls that have played on that team, they talk about the impact that being

able to be a lady vole, and what that had on their life, what that impact was to them personally and professionally. and they talk about the opportunities that were open to them because they were a lady vol. they were a competitor, and i say all the time, there are hundreds of young girls that are out there at their home beating that basketball against the back board and the blacktop and trying to hone their craft so they can be a competitor. they can be an athlete. and i, i was so disappointed that this administration and the department of education went so far as to propose a rule allowing biological males to compete in women's sports. and, riley, you've referenced

the impact of, on young girls, that this has, and how it is kind of defeating, not only to when you are competing, but when you're preparing. and you referenced the amount of work that you do, that 5:00 a.m. swimming, that 5:00 dinner, and the way you're double tracking to be a competitor and also get an education. so i want you to talk a little bit about the impact that keeping title ix, and what title ix meant to you as you were that young girl training, hoping to get a college scholarship, hoping that you would be an ncaa college athlete. talk about that. >> absolutely. it's far bigger than athletic achievement, and i, i think that's something that gets lost, especially when we only have a

few minutes to share testimony. i shared how i didn't get the trophy, but let me reiterate, it's not about the trophy. i didn't care about holding the tangible object of the probably five dollar production trophy. it's about the opportunity. it's about the lifelong skills and characteristics you developed from playing sports. playing sports, aside from my face, i put a lot of this in my faith, but playing sports has given me the leadership to do this. the security to take the arrows, to be held hostage. it's playing sports that has given me that confidence, and no girl should lose out on that. it is far bigger than athletic success or chances for opportunity. it is about those transferable skills. there was an ernst & young study that came out that said 94% of female c level executives, ceo, coo, cfo, 94% of those females were female athletes, and i think that is a entirely true testament of what it means to be an athlete, and those skills that it provides you. and i want to mention really briefly, the rewrite of title ix is an abomination. it is equating sex to gender

identity, which means let men would live in dorm rooms with women, men would have access to bathrooms, changing areas, locker rooms, men could join sororities, which we're seeing happening. it's happening at university of wyoming. men could take academic and athletic scholarships away from women in this new rewrite. it's actually sexual harassment if you missed under a trans- identified individual. it's sexual harassment that if you're in a dorm room and you're a woman and you feel uncomfortable sharing this dorm room, if you complain and ask to be moved, you're guilty of sexual harassment. >> and you mentioned the transferable skills. i think that is so vital. give me, like, the top three skills that you developed by learning to be a competitive athlete. >> i think especially being two year team captain at university of kentucky, i would say the top three skills i learned were teamwork, communication, and leadership. without a doubt. and those are skills that translate to your career.

i graduated with every intent on being in dental school, actually. what i wanted to do with added onyx. i scored in the top percentile of the dat, which is the dental admissions test, and that's what i, i thought my life direction was going. and those three skills i mentioned, teamwork, leadership, and communication, would have been crucial to becoming a dentist, and now i realize in my advocacy work they're just as crucial in this field as well. >> absolutely. in, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator. senator booker? >> thank you, mr. chairman. in, both of you, for holding this committee. and thanks to the, all five of the witnesses here. takes a lot to be here, especially two of our younger witnesses. i was terrified in speaking in front of crowds when i was your, both of your ages, and it just is extraordinary to me the, the truth and testimony that you shared with folks here. ms. robinson, i just want to start with you, because i still live in this little bit of a bizarro world where i have arguments with friends. i'm not talking about political friends, i'm talking about folks from my community who

think i'm wrong when i say, in most states in america, a gay american could post their pictures of their wedding on, online, and then the next day, be fired from their job. i mean, literally, most americans think that this is already been accomplished somehow, that you, just by being gay, you can be discriminated against at your workplace, you could be discriminated against in public accommodations, you could be discriminated against in getting access to financial means that most americans take for granted. you can be disseminated against even serving on a jury. could you speak to that for a moment and just, like, i know we're talking about a lot of issues here, but that, to me, seems outrageous. >> absolutely. this is very real, and why we need the equality act. what the equality act would do is make explicit nondiscrimination protections across race, gender, sex and

sexual orientation. that's currently not something that exists. you know, one of the reasons that we did the state of emergency is to lift up this crisis and make it clear, especially as americans are thinking about where they're going to go to school or taking new jobs across the country, we had to make it clear that there is a dizzying patchwork of protections for lgbtq+ people across this country. in service of that, we issued a guidebook that includes know your rights resources , where you can go to file complaints, and then also tools to navigate some of these more hostile states. >> and if i can just interrupt you, because i had the privilege of serving with john lewis, and i'm, i'm happy with senator merkley and senator bolan to lead on this bill in the senate, but on the house side, john lewis was leaving on this bill, and when you asked him, here's this, you know, christian, southern, black elder man, and he would say that these issues are so similar to what he was dealing with. the same things people said about why they didn't want black people in their restaurant, why

they didn't want black people to marry white people, why they didn't feel comfortable with their private business, why do i have to hire black people? people used religious excuses, cultural excuses. this is my own beliefs, that it's wrong. the bible says it's wrong. it, it is amazing to me that growing up with two black parents, talking about the struggles of the time, who did get denied jobs and promotions, who did see violence and threats , who told stories about white people and black people that were attacked for standing up for equal rights for african- americans. am i wrong to draw this basic parallel of human dignity, whether it's gender discrimination, discrimination against lgbtq americans, black americans, muslim americans? is there a line that goes through about the basic right to be an american and have equal rights? >> absolutely. this is fundamentally a civil

rights issue. the equality act has to be signed into law to give us all equal access to that american dream, and i think the other through line here is that often times, we've been able to find ourselves on the right side of the social issues. you know, for example, the same things that they're saying about trans-people today, they were saying about lesbian and people 20 years ago, and now the respect for marriage act is the law of the land. the same horrific things they're saying about trans- people today, they were saying about people that live with hiv and a.i.d.s. 30 years ago, and now we significantly reduce stigma, and we're on our way to ending that epidemic in this generation, in our lifetimes. we can make change on this, but it starts by opening our hearts and minds and acknowledging, then, the story of america so many of us has faced discrimination. when we come together, when we fought and understood an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, we've been able to change the course of history. >> i was very moved by your testimony, ms. gaines, especially because i don't

think most americans understand what it is to be an elite athlete. i'm here because i was a division i player, fundamentally , 50, 60 hour work weeks on my athletic skills. the first year i step down, you might've had this experience yourself, i felt like, oh my god, this is how civilian sort of life when you have just so much time, you know? you're not getting up and doing practices. the experiences you had and the picture that my colleague, senator hawley showed, is just outrageous, deplorable, and unacceptable for you talking to your truth. ms. walker, what stuns me about what we're seeing right now is a lot of americans don't understand how widespread the bullying and the threats and the violence are, not just to those of us who are in elite competition, we'll often face dealing with these issues at the ncaa is dealing with them, but the widespread nature. i think ms. robinson, in your longer testimony, you were talking about the unbelievable,

something's happened in the last decade, of this rise of threats and bullying and violence and murder of lgbtq americans, at levels that are frightening to me. and, ms. walker, i want to just end with you, because i don't think most americans understand what it's like to try to just live your truth for the average american that is lgbtq or trans. could you just tell one more time, as you've listened to the testimony today, just how it feels just to be a teenager living your life as you do? >> ya. it definitely is a struggle, day today. growing up in a conservative state, where there is a lot of misinformation spread about what trans-people are, what we do, and how we're just like everybody else, it's definitely

been hard for me. like i said in my testimony, i was severely bullied in middle school, to the point where i had to drop out of public school because there was so much hate every day in the hallways, being the standard, being dead named, and it got to physical violence at a certain point, and so i had to drop out of public school for that year, and the school wasn't doing anything about it but >> mr. chairman, thank you for the latitude, and again, if this is about protecting our children, this story of ms. walker and other trans children just needs to be heard, about what, what you're in during print think of it >> thank you, senator brooker. cruise. >> thank you, mr. chairman. title ix was a landmark civil rights law. it helped create the incredible breadth of women's sports and girls sports that we see across the country. i believe in girls sports, i believe in women's sports. i'm the proud father of two daughters who are both athletes. i think participating in competitive sports is a wonderful thing for a young girl i think it is a wonderful

thing for a woman, and i think, unfortunately, today's democrat party has decided that women's sports and girls sports no longer matters, and they are willing to push radical legislation designed to destroy girls sports and women's sports. ms. gaines, i want to thank you for your courage. you're relatively young, but you have demonstrated incredible courage. and because you have dared to speak up, you have been demonized, you have been vilified. i saw when you were attacked by a leftist mob at san francisco state university for daring to speak up. you had an incredible record as a swimmer at the university of kentucky. you were a two-time ncaa all- american, you were a five-time s.e.c. champion, you're an s.e.c. recordholder, and a two-time olympic trial qualifier.

but yet on march 27th, 2022, something changed. what happened on march 27th -- on march 17th, 2022? >> that's when thomas and i raced in the 200 freestyle, and, again, resulted in a tie. >> and so you tied. what, what was the consequence of tying? >> we went behind the awards podium, were typically you're handed your trophy, you're marched out, you're named an all-american. and so we go back there, and the official looks at both thomas and myself, and said, great job, but you guys tied, and we only have one trophy, therefore, we're giving this trophy to leah. and i questioned this, and i say, why? at first, i shortened it in my testimony, but really, he stumbled on his words. he didn't know how to answer this. and at first, he is, oh, well, we're just doing this in chronological order. to which i further pressed, and i said, okay, well, what are you being chronological about? because we tied. and if we're doing this off alphabetical order, j becomes before.

this wasn't a script they had prepared for him. and he actually appreciated his honesty. he did say, we have to give the trophy for lia, because lia has to have it for pictures. they've made that clear, lia has to have the trophy for pictures. you can pose with this trophy, but you have to give yours back. you have to go home empty- handed. lia thomas takes the trophy home, end of story. >> now let me ask you, someone who's competed at the elite level. in your experience, is there a difference between women and men? >> of course. i think we learned this at a very young age, watching even 12 and under's play. going through puberty causes irreversible advantage that no matter the training, no matter the diet, no matter any alterable change you can make, will overcome that mail advantage. especially in sports like swimming, where lung capacity matters so much. even something as silly as throat size.

men have, on average, a 40% larger throat, which sounds like it's nothing, but when you're grasping for air, not 40% larger throat makes a huge difference in athletic success. not to mention height. you guys know the differences. >> ms. robinson, do you agree with ms. gaines that there's a difference between women and men? >> if the question is about trans women -- two i'm just asking, is there a difference between women and men? >> what i can say here is that the ncaa has rules in place. they've had rules in place for the last decade -- >> i'm going to try again. do you believe there's a difference between women and men? it's a yes no question. do you believe there's a difference? >> i think we're talking about this case -- but no, i'm asking a question. do you believe there's a difference between women and men? most people could answer this very recently. i'm curious if you're willing to do so. >> oh, absolutely. i'm just putting it into the conversation. i think their definitions related to sex -- >> i'm trying to get a yes or no. i'm not trying to get a speech. is there a difference between

women and men? >> i think that there are definitions for biological sex. >> let me ask you this question, then. why do women's sports exist? if you can't define a difference between women and men, why not abolish women's sports and just tell little girls to swim with little boys and see who wins? >> i'm simply saying that that sex is different than gender. >> why do women's sports exist? >> senator, i'll tell you. >> ms. robinson, please answer the question i'm asking you. why do women's sports exist. >> i think that there are so many positive benefits to sports. >> but why have a separate category for women? if there is no difference between women and men, why have women's sports? >> i'm saying that there's a difference between sex and gender , and that the ncaa has ruled in place, which they have for the last decade -- >> i would like to enter into the record an article from dewclaw called comparing athletic performances for the best elite women to boys and men. and it goes through examining, in 2017, the top records for women in the world, in various

track and field events. so, for example, in the hundred meter, the top record for women in the world was 10.71 seconds. now, that record, for the number one woman in the world in 2017, was in the year 2017, broken by 124 boys under 18. in that same year, the record for the number one competing woman in the 100 yard, 100 meter dash in the world was broken by a total of 2474 men. if the radical democrat agenda to destroy girls sports and women's sports succeeds, little girls will not have a chance to compete, so i ask unanimous consent that this article be entered into the record. >> without objection. senator padilla? >> thank you, mr. chair. colleagues, a recent trevor project pull found that 56% of

lgbtq+ youth respondents could not access the mental health services that they need, and this committee and others have discussed the state of mental health in america. it was at a crisis before the pandemic. it's been exacerbated by the pandemic, and most acutely within the lgbtq+ community, and most acutely amongst its use. so you couple these statistics with the country's lack of protections for the lgbtq+ community, and it's clear to me that we need to do more to address these mental health disparities. questions for dr. lopez. can you discuss the factors that contribute to these higher rates of mental health challenges, and what would be the impact of tailoring and providing more mental health services and support for lgbtq+ youth ? >> it is very well known in the

literature that discrimination is a main determinant of poor mental health outcomes in lgbt youth. there is no question that discrimination, as has been discussed, against lgbtq+ youth, has increased over the last few years , and that is, there is research to show that that is a driver of worsening mental health in lgbt youth. so mental health is needed in lgbt youth for sure. but also, we also need to work on the social aspects that drives that mental health issue, which is discrimination. >> thank you. and it seems that, unfortunately, as we should be providing more and stronger protections and support, too many jurisdictions across the country seem to run backwards. they're putting lgbtq plus youth

in more vulnerable and dangerous circumstances. . you know, the next question i have is not a technical one, not a date policy question, but i want to talk to you for a minute, harleigh. appreciate you being here today, and you're encouraged to speak up. you shared a lot with the committee, and i'm glad you're -- your sacrifice over what should be your summer vacation to be here for you've talked about the love and support you received from your parents and doctors and friends. for any of your peers who may be watching today, thinking about, maybe how to talk to their parents, how to talk to their friends, maybe not as welcoming or comforting of a circumstance as you were blessed to have, what words of encouragement would you offer to them, given your experience and given your advocacy?

>> the main thing i would want to convey to them is that they are not alone. one of our started my journey, i had just entered middle school, and, as i said, i had to move to online school because of bullying. and i was in a very dark place, and i felt very alone. i had no friends. i just had my parents, who were on the luckily, supportive, but, you know, as a child, you feel so isolated. and so one of the things that helped me was getting involved in my community. my parents took me to our local p flag, which is parents and friends of lesbians and gay's. it was a group of people who, which is a roundtable of queer numbers of the committee and allies came together to share their experiences and just have a good time. and i was scared going to that meeting, but as soon as i got there, i felt so welcomed, and

it was the first time i did not feel alone. so that's why i'm here today, to tell those trans kids that they are not alone, that i accept them, and so many other people accept them for who they are, because it's not a choice, and that regardless of what people say to you, just remember who you are and stick to that. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chair. >> thank you, senator padilla. senator lee? >> thank you. ms. gaines, i'd like to start with you, if i could. and thanks again for sharing your story. i've been touched and saddened to hear of the misogynistic and discriminatory treatment that you received from the ncaa, which i regard as nothing short of shameful. you've handled it with, with grace, and, and courage, and i appreciate that example that you're setting for so many women and girls across america. your story reminded me of, of a

letter that i received from a constituent a couple of years ago. the constituent, who explained to me her own story with girls and women's athletics. she explained that she would never have been able to go to college, never would've had a chance at a college education had she not done so under an athletic scholarship. and, and while she was in college, she became the most dominant female track athlete in the state of utah, and she was a two-time all-american sprinter who held the 100 meter record at byu for 22 years. she told me that even at the height of her collegiate year, as one of the top female sprinters in the country, she would sometimes go to help her dad, who coached high school track, and she would go to those , those events with her dad. she said, even then, the high

school boys could beat her. because of biological differences between people who were born male and people who were born female. so what would you say to all the high school female athletes who worry about losing potential college scholarships, to say nothing of the world in which we now face, name and likeness endorsements, like that but all the things that they might forgo as a result of having to compete for scholarships, endorsements, and notoriety with people who were born male? >> my message would be that it's not trance phobic to acknowledge how women deserve respect, how we deserve safety, how we deserve fairness. we deserve our, keeping our dignity. it's not trance phobic to say that. it, it's not trance phobic to say that you can't change your sex. sex is down to a chromosomal level, and that's not something that can be changed, and that

matters in sports. your biology, sports is the one area where that, your sexual chromosomes matter. and again, i, i'll echo harleigh's message as well, you're not alone. the overwhelming majority of people regarding this issue of fairness in women's sports agree that having been in women's sports is wrong, and that it's unfair, and it's a violation to, again, our privacy and rights to safety as women. so that would be my message to people, to be empowered. and before anything, stand firm in the truth, biological truth. >> are you trance phobic, riley? >> that is simply not true but >> do you hold anything against transgender persons? >> absolutely not. i agree lia thomas with following the rules set in place by the ncaa, and i have no problem with lia thomas. i do believe there's a bit of selfishness and narcissism and entitlement surrounding this person in regards to the utter disregard that thomas displayed for us in these situations, but i have no animosity towards thomas. the problem is the ncaa. my problem is the biden administration pushing a rewrite of title ix.

that is my problem, and that's why i'm here. that's why this issue has become political for me, as i realize that legislation is the way you curb these things. i, i can't believe it's come to this, but i have no hate in my heart towards anyone, even the, the protesters who mobbed me. the first thing that i did was prayed for them. i saw the sole business, the vengeance, the violence in their eyes, and they do it in the name of love and inclusion and acceptance and tolerance and welcoming and embracing diversity, but they did not embrace my diverse thought. that, to me, was what hate looked like. nothing in my heart is hateful but >> how about the ncaa? did, did the ncaa embrace your diversity? tell, tell me, tell me what attempts that the ncaa made to accommodate you and other female swimmers who felt uncomfortable sharing an open locker room with a biological male. >> nothing. they actually made us feel guilty for feeling as if we

were uncomfortable. time and time again, that's what we saw. there was even a group of girls who undressed in the janitors closet. they changed clothes in the janitors closet because they felt more comfortable undressing in that environment than they did on dressing next to someone with male gaze. >> and were they doing that because they were 25? >> you were doing it because they were violated. >> tell me how they were violated. >> i think two, three, four years ago, if a man claims the identity of simply saying barry woman, walks into a locker room, a.d.a. would follow this man into a locker room, arrest him, and he start with secular harassment, and the list goes on. but this was celebrated. this was encouraged. lia thomas was then nominated for ncaa woman of the year, which was an award that i was also nominated for. but when i saw the full list of nominees and saw it was exclusive to not just women, the award was immediately devalued and meaningless to me. that's how they were honoring this, rather than making us

feel reassured in our feelings that this was wrong. >> when you accommodate men, time and time again, refusing to accommodate women, we call that misogyny. you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator lee. next up is sandra blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ms. robinson, your testimony is really powerful on the issue, not only of anti-tran29 legislation, but also the threats of violence and hate crimes. and you describe this entire emergency is the result of a coordinated moral panic. the reference to this emergency is unprecedented. 50 years of the human rights campaign, which itself is noteworthy. i wonder if you could describe

the, the links here that make it coordinated, that create the threat of violence, the feeling that this community is, to quote you, constantly under threat, and what relation it is to gun violence in particular, at poulsen club queue. you referred to both of those. if you could just expound on your testimony a little bit in that regard. >> absolutely. and i think that, you know, those related examples of pulse and club q show that this violent medical rhetoric, plus easy access to firearms, equals real-life harm, violence, death to my community. and while we're here talking about the issues that are truly affecting children, their health and their safety, the number one thing we should be talking about is gun violence. that is the number one killer of america's youth. but instead, we are putting a target on the back of trans

kids. and when it comes to where this is coming from, we don't have to guess. i mean, the american pretzels product, their executive director, said that they are targeting trans kids to, quote, score political points. and every time we see these waves of anti-tran29 legislation move through states, over 500 bills just this year, we see the company by campaigns of hate and bias online. in florida, when the don't stay gay or trans bill was moved through, you saw 400% increase in language of groomers online targeting the lgbtq+ community. let's be clear that this is instilling fear in people. this is perpetuating trance phobia and homophobia that has real-life impact on harm and the lives of my community. >> would you say that a lot of the rhetoric, the legislation, in a sense, gives license to the violence, or encourages it, implicitly, maybe without directly intending it, but, nonetheless, creates an atmosphere where the violence

is more likely to flourish? >> absolutely. you know, there was a speaker at sea pack that called for the, quote unquote, eradication of transgender. that sort of violent language takes away the humanity of people that look like me, people that experience the world like me, lgbtq+ people across the country. it makes us seem less human. when you couple that with trying to censor education, remove our stories from schools, trying to criminalize or vilify loving parents for affirming their gender identity, this is creating a culture of fear and harm that's directly targeted at some of our most vulnerable, the lgbtq+ community and trans youth. we should all see what's happening for the moral crisis that it is, and know that because the attack is coming to trans youth today doesn't mean that that target can't be placed on someone else's back next week. this is a threat not only for the trans community, but for us

all. >> i think that's a really important point, that we are all at risk of this violence if the lgbtq+ community can be targeted in this way, anyone can be targeted. anyone who is different is at risk. and this community right now is the most vulnerable, but others can be targeted as well. senator bruno and i have helped to lead hate crimes legislation, which actually has taken as one of its principal causes to stop exactly this kind of violence, and so i want to thank you for your leadership , and look forward to working with you in the future. thank you very much. thanks, mr. chairman. >> senator kennedy? >> take you, mr. chairman, and thanks to all of our, our witnesses here today.

ms. robinson, i want to follow- up by trying to understand your answer to one of senator cruise prince questions this is really a question, not a suggestion. do i understand your position to be that there are two sexes, but there can be more than two genders? >> i wouldn't even say two. we've got dr. lopez here as well, but there's also the definition of intersex. i think that, often, these conversations, we're conflating sex and gender, and i do want to affirm here that trans women are, are women. that is their gender. >> okay. but i'm trying to understand, are you, do you make a distinction between sex and gender? >> yes, sir. >> okay. explained that. do you think there are more than two sexes? >> i believe that there is a, a

definition for intersex as well but i want to acknowledge. but sex is -- >> i'm just trying to understand. i'm thoroughly confused. so you're, you're born -- i'm talking about biology. male, female, and what else? >> i believe that intersex is also acknowledged. but again, i'm not a doctor here. >> and what does intersex mean? >> there's a difference between sex and gender, and i think in these conversations, we're conflating the two. >> well, but i want to start with sex, okay? there's mail, there's female. when a baby's born, before the baby has had time to even have a sense of self, there's male, female, and intersex? >> i believe that is true, but i would defer to dr. lopez, as i'm not a physician. >> okay. and how many genders are there? >> i think that gender is expensive, and the definitions are always growing. you know,

today, i can tell you -- >> more than five? >> the talk about non-binary as -- i think that gender is not a binary is what i'm trying to say. >> are there more than five genders? i'm just trying to understand. >> i mean, i think that there was a time where women wearing pants didn't feel like it was appropriate for the gender, and yet i'm wearing pants today. i think that there are ways -- >> are there more than five? >> i wouldn't subject myself to naming how many genders there are, but what i can say >> is there an infinite number? >> excuse me? >> there's an infinite number of genders? >> i think, depending on your culture, there are a lot of different genders that, that exist. and i can also say that it's a term that's evolving. if you look at young people today, they really don't lean into the binary of only woman and man. so i think that it incumbent upon us not to legislate on this, but create space for them to explore what their

identities are, what their gender identities are. >> let's get back to athletics. i think i understand what you're saying. there are three sexes, male, female, and intersex. >> i believe that to be true, but again, i'm not a physician. >> and there are an infinite number of genders, because gender is a mental state. >> gender is about expression, and i think that there are a variety of ways that you can express your gender. >> okay. so there's infinite number. all right. let's go back to the, to the biology. male, female. boy, girl. okay? biologically, do males have an advantage over females, biologically, in sports? >> again, i'm not a physician, and i, i can't speak to that. >> what's your real world experience? >> it depends. i mean, there are some people who are born male that i'm faster than if i were to sprint against them, and some that i'm not. some males that are taller than

some women, and some that are shorter. >> you don't believe that a biological male has a physical advantage in sports over a biological female? >> not as a definitive statement. >> give me an example. well, no. i don't think -- how, how, how many female members of the nba do you see? >> well, i can say that, you know, there's been this news article about men that think that they could beat serena williams in tennis, right? that they think that they could actually score a point on her. and it's just not the case. she is stronger than them. >> what's your experience? >> both serena and venus lost to the 200 third-ranked male tennis player, which, they're phenoms for women. my experience, my husband, he swam at university of kentucky as well. in terms of accolades and in terms of national ranking, i was a much better swimmer than him. he could kick my butt any day of the week. without trying. >> okay. i, i, i just think, ms. robinson, i'm trying to

understand where you're coming from. i think you lose a lot of credibility when you don't concede that a biological male has physical advantages over a biological female. i mean, i just think that's a proven fact. and you really hurt your credibility. i understand you, you want the world to be a better place. i do too. and i don't think people ought to be discriminated against because of an immutable characteristic. i don't. and i, i think that, i think everybody ought to be free to be themselves. and what you do in your bedroom, or what i do in my bedroom with a consenting adult, is nobody's business. but if what i do in my bedroom with a consenting adult, if i decide i want to tell

somebody's child about it, than other people have rights too. and i think parents have rights. and i think biological females have rights. to be able to compete fairly in sports, in sports. so i, i really, i really think you hurt your credibility when you refuse to acknowledge that biological males have an advantage over biological females. it kind of makes me wonder about all your testimony. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> i'm sorry, go ahead? >> i, i, what i'm trying to say is that there is not a definitive advantage in all cases. sir, i don't know if you believe that you could beat serena williams in tennis, but i probably think that that's not the case. there are not all cases were all men are physically superior to all women. and at the end of the day, in this conversation, we're not talking about that.

we're talking about trans women who are, in fact, women, who deserve to play in a gender that matches their sports, who deserve all the benefits that ms. gaines is talking about. and as a sister and her black woman, i can say definitively that my womanhood is not threatened by a transgender person asserting hers as well. >> senator verona? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i thank all of the persons who are testifying today. for ms. robinson, do you know what percentage of women's sports consists of transgender participants? >> it is a very small number. i can say that there are about -- that the williams institute has estimated about 300,000 trans youth total in the united states. that's less than a percentage of a percent. and when some of these laws pass in places like utah, they are putting into place broad sports bands that ban kids from playing as early as the age of five years old. in utah specifically, when the governor explored more about that piece of legislation, he, last year, called the rule,

because it actually only impacted four trans students in the state, and only one trans girl. so we know that there's a very small percentage of, trans women that are actually playing in sports that these bills are targeting. >> so, you know, it's, i hardly know what to say, because i would think that human rights belong to everyone, and that trans rights are human rights, and i think we must do more to ensure that the trans community and the lgbtq+ community, more broadly, can live as their authentic selves, free from the threat of, and real, violence or discrimination. so, ms. walker, i thank you very much for being here. do you, you play sports? do you participate or compete in sports? >> i do not. >> so would you say that most, i would think, that, that most transgender girls are not competing in sports, but they just want to, you just want to be able to be free from these

kinds of totally discriminatory laws that, that, that does not allow you to be yourself. >> yeah. that's definitely the case. whereas i don't personally compete in sports, so i can't speak for the trans kids that do compete in sports, i will say that it's even more scary for us in a situation like that, because can you imagine somebody like me competing, having to compete in a men's sports team? that would be detrimental to my mental health, and i would have , i would feel unsafe. and so i think things like the equality act are necessary to protect these trans people from this termination, because we have the right, i have the right, as a woman, just as ms. gaines has the right of a woman, to compete in women's sports. and just because i wasn't born

in a female body doesn't mean i don't have that same right. >> thank you. and as long as we're focusing on sports, of course, we know that there are huge, huge differences in so-called male sports and the support that's given to male sports and so- called male athletes versus women's sports and, you know, there's all kinds of data about the discrimination in these male, so-called male and so- called female sports. in fact, one of my colleagues who is very much opposed to transgender persons competing in female sports, said, if we allow transgender persons to compete against females, that, that we're going to see coaches encouraging boys to become transgender to compete. ms. robinson, is this what's happening in sports? >> no. it is not. there is an incredible process that people have to go through to come out that can be painful, that's about exposing yourself to your family, to your friends in different ways.

i can't imagine someone injuring all of that simply to play a sport. these are people that are only trying to live, as harleigh has told us, to play sports that match their gender identities so that they can get all the positive benefits that we've talked about. self-esteem building, self- confidence, the ability to work within a team. i just can't see why we would deny that opportunity to children as young as five years old. >> one last question. so we have all of these laws, don't say gay and other kinds of laws. maybe this is a question for dr. lopez. as you work with the transgender community, lgbtq persons, what do these kinds of bans on books, what kind of impact do they have on the persons that you treat? >> well, these are, one has to remember that transgender children and adolescents are already a vulnerable population. they have to be, make an extra

effort compared to non- transgender children to socialize, to feel like they belong, to participate in sports, which they have the right to, as harleigh said. and if there's already a climate of, you can be targeted, you will be treated differently , these kids tend to isolate themselves. i have patients who have no friends. like, zero friends. i have patience that just do online or homeschool because they're terrified about going to school. let alone participate in sports. that can be terrifying for them. and they, i have, i have one patient that i saw last week that, their mom told me is a 12- year-old who plays soccer, and it's not competitive, it's just with the school, and she told me, this bill is going to be devastating for my child. i will have to move out of state if the bill that bans sports participation passes,

because that has kept my child alive. that was the thing that help them engage and feel excepted with peers. so, yes, all this climate is really harming the social life and the growth of, of these, my patients. of these kids. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senators. senator whitehouse. >> make you very much. appreciate this hearing, chairman. appreciate the panel being here . dr. lopez, i don't know if -- i had a -- my own hearing in another committee that i chair, so coming late to this one. i apologize if this is a repeat question. but i wonder if there is an age , or a phase of life when young people begin to experience some uncertainty about their gender identity. >> there is no specific age.

people can experience that their gender might be different as young as two when they start talking, but by adolescence, most people who identify as transgender do realize that their gender is different, and very often, puberty is a trigger to realize this is not my gender, because they're experiencing physical changes that do not feel consistent with them and their gender. >> yeah. so i think a lot of people's experience is that puberty is a rather hard time of life for a lot of kids. entirely apart from gender identity. is that supported by any evidence? and being a teenager is a hard time of life, irrespective of

gender identity, and adolescents is a difficult, awkward time of life? is there any evidence to support those propositions, or is not just my anecdotal experience? >> i, so i'm not a mental health provider, so i, i am not sure what specific data exists to show that adolescence is a difficult time, but as a pediatrician, i do, i mean, see that adolescence, you know, children and adolescents need a lot of support from parents, from their community, to find who they are in different ways. social connection is very important, and parental connection is very important in adolescence. that's just a general concept. >> yeah. and i doubt that many of us in this room would like to go back

and relive our teenage years. so if you accept the proposition that that period of adolescence, and the onset of puberty, and, you know, being a teenager and all of that, is a difficult, challenging, and awkward time of life, presumably , it gets a lot worse when you add to all of the questions that kids experience in that phase of their lives the additional question, concern, uncertainty, awareness that you've got a different gender identity. >> yeah. so, actually, one of the benefits of gender affirming care is to not have to worry about their gender. so it allows children to go on with their lives, to school, do

the normal kids or social activities that they want to do without to worry about their gender, because if they're going through a puberty that feels wrong with them, they will not be comfortable in their skin to do, to engage with peers, to go to school, to do the normal things that kids want to do, because they're thinking about their gender all the time, and thinking that they're not comfortable in their skin. >> so this is, at least initially, mostly happening with kids, right? awareness of uncertainty about their gender, or awareness that they are in the wrong gender. >> well, it happens to transgender adults as well. >> but mostly it's kids. >> and transgender adults. >> yeah. and it just seems to me that when we're dealing with a population that includes so

many children, that coming out this from a perspective of kindness and love and support is the thing that, just, we ought to be doing, as fellow human beings. and, at least that's the message i take away from this hearing. there's just no point being mean to these kids. they've got enough going on already. >> just, if i can say something. these are the bravest kids, just like harleigh here. you can see how brave she is. these are the bravest kids there are, because they have to fight every day to be themselves. and when they feel like they're losing the fight, that's when they get depressed and commit suicide. and it takes, also, a lot of courage for these patients to go

against the world, really, to advocate for their kids, to support them. so these are really good, loving parents that just want their kids to be happy and do the normal things that kids do. >> and other grown-ups trying to score points off of all of that just strikes me as being very unfortunate behavior. >> certainly unfair. thank you put >> thanks, senator whitehouse. senator allsop? >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you to our panelists for joining us today, to all of you for your testimony and your courage in speaking publicly and speaking before the senate. i think it's worth just stepping back and acknowledging the tremendous stress and anxiety that so many across the country are dealing with for so many reasons, but that, without question, as we see in survey

after survey, as we see from mental health professionals, from psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, that lgbtq youth are experiencing. particularly in a political and cultural environment, whereas we've discussed today, these issues are being haunted up and exploited to score cheap political points, and to divide people. and when we see vulnerable people targeted by powerful politicians for the purposes of dividing people and gaining power, with reckless disregard for the impact that it has on, in particular, children and young people who are struggling, who are bullied,

who are marginalized, who are bravely grappling to reconcile themselves and how they feel about themselves with expectations of family and society, and that a political environment is imposed upon them in which they're made the center of attention and the focus of criticism and hatred. children. i think it's worth just stepping back and -- powerful people in the u.s. senate reflecting on the impact of our words, our deeds, our states. ms. robinson, i have some data here from georgia. i would like your view on it. recent data from the trevor project. 72% of lgbtq youth in georgia experiencing serious anxiety. 59% symptoms of depression.

46% are seriously considering suicide within the last year. can you comment on the impact it has on vulnerable and marginalized youth when they're made political targets in this endless partisan power struggle in the nation's capital? >> it's, it's absolutely devastating. it's devastating the ways that we put a target on the back of trans youth, and i think about the history of my movement, when the a.i.d.s. epidemic came to the forefront in the '80s. by the early '90s, you had lost a whole generation of gay men. i don't want us to repeat that story with our trans youth. this is a time where we can offer them the support, the resources, the affirmation and validity of their existence to ensure that they survive. and when they do, we get people that are as whole and as happy as folks like harleigh , at the

end of this table. this is a real opportunity for to ensure that the most vulnerable among us is protected , because our rights and our civil liberties are intertwined. >> aunt, ms. robinson, in addition to the impact on the mental health, the sense of whether or not one's community and society is welcoming and loving and kind, or whether one is being turned into a target and a bargaining chip between political parties in a struggle for power, it's, of course, not just the impact on the individuals mental health, but it's the risk of being targeted by a violent act or a hate crime . additional data, nationwide, according to the fbi, nearly 1 in 5 hate crimes in 2021 were motivated by anti-lgbtq bias.

between 2017 and 2020, doj data demonstrating extreme levels of violence. against lgbtq persons across the country. again, just, i'm asking you, please, to remind the senate that what we do here has a powerful impact on people's sense of well-being, and on the risk they face of violence. can you comment on the risk of violence, please? >> absolutely. i mean, i talked to people everyday that are living in a space of feeling isolated and feeling fearful for their very lives. i talked to black trans women, who, again, have experienced another deadly year, and they talk about going out the house to walk the dog or go to school and being fearful that that will be the day they don't get to go home again. i talked to parents of trans youth that are fleeing their state because they feel that

their family and their child will not be safe and will not get to grow into an adult. this is a crisis, and the hardest part is that this is a crisis that is man-made. that the people consulted for by stopping these bad pieces of legislation and stopping the violent rhetoric to take away the humanity of trans people and the lgbtq+ community. >> thank you, ms. robinson. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. senator welch? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank all of the witnesses for being here. you've been tremendous, and i mean every single one of you, because we're dealing with issues that really affect people in a very personal way. ms. walker, thank you for your courage, thank you for your coming forward and telling us your story and sharing that. and i want to say thank you to everyone of you. you know, this whole challenge that we have as a society, and it's not unique to u.s. society , of defining people who are other as less, less entitled to

be fully accepted, has been ongoing situation that we face throughout our history. you know, recently in vermont, we were the first state to pass civil unions. and our incumbent governor, who signed that bill, nearly lost his re-election. and many of the arguments that are being made here about why that would be so bad dissolved, because once the law was passed and people were together, then what before had been seen as wrong we just know we are trying to figure out life and who we are and how we can be we are and be

fully fully engaged and being a generous open and loving person to everyone else. so the equality act i think is so important. because it essentially acknowledges the force of law that lgbtq plus folks are entitled to the same rights and protections of everyone else. so that is my statement. but it's a statement of appreciation about each of you being here. because, i'm talking to you, mr. sharp. and these are gripping issues for everyone. i come on the side of acceptance, what people's struggles are, there's a lot of power in acceptance. i just want to ask you, if you want to say anything else about the extraordinary issues you had to go through as you had

this emerging sense of who you were. it wasn't quite right we thought you were and wanted to be. but that is not an easy decision to make to walk down the road. >> coming out of it, like said earlier, coming out is such a difficult process. and for me i was lucky to be a have a supporting family and supportive network as well. and that is not the case for so many other americans. and, i came out at a time where this was before any of the anti- trans legislation was introduced . i cannot imagine trans kids coming out in the modern era of hate, name-calling and violence

by legislatures being called demons and groomers. and needing called out by my state legislation in alabama and the governor is elected to represent everyone attacking those people for simply being who they are. it's disgusting. to have something like the equality act, to protect these kids, and stop the incredibly violent rhetoric that is being introduced is incredibly important. >> thank you very much. dr. lopez, you deal with kids. we were all kids once. but, is some law that tells the child or a young teen, young adult with a can or cannot be going to be persuasive to that person who is going through some of the internal struggles?

that people go through, fully realizing their own identity? a law that imposes or prohibits of them from exploring who they want to be have any chance of working versus acceptance? >> i'm going to try to understand your question. do you mean, what are the laws that are being passed, gender affirming care, your question is, the chances of those children. >> i'm out of time. i didn't ask that very well. i need to yield back. thank you very much. >> i have to vote on a roll call. i have to bring this to a close at this particular juncture. having sat through the hearing, we ended up with a few issues. the first issue was violence. violence is unacceptable and

there are ways to express herself loaded violence will never whether it's in college or in the classrooms in a high school in alabama or whether it is the victims of lgbt hate crimes which sadly are increasing. unacceptable. both sides of the table. second thing, two issues that are emerging. one an issue with ms. walker. i was so concerned about coming here today for you. i really didn't have to be. you were terrific. you are poised, and you made a heck of a presentation. it speaks well of you and certainly for family that you while you made this transition in life. but, what we are talking about is the other walkers, and the other ones across the united

states whether they will have the same opportunity for medical care, good professional care based on science and medicine or legislatures saying we do not want the family making the decision. i think that is horrible. parents have a responsibility in life and death decision making and it's a basic misunderstanding about the care being given to gender affirmation. we clarified that today, the notion that kids are on the way to surgery or medicines are being dispensed, it just does not bear any truth or credence when you look at the organizations that support the current method of gender affirming care. american medical association and the academy of pediatrics. finally, i get it. i understand why you feel as you do. you dedicate a big part of your life in an extra anywhere to a

sport. and something happened along the way which is seared memory of that experience and it leads you to speak out. but there has to be a way for us as an american citizen to enter conversation. that does protect your rights at the expense of the witness from alabama. there has to be a way where we can find a respectful way to move forward and go forward as together with lgbtq individuals. and the professionalism that you brought to it. as i said earlier, on the same side of the coin, i wasn't sure of this hearing. but i am sure now. i'm glad you all had a chance to testify and answer questions and we had such a fulsome heartless conversation by all of the members of the committee. we have the promise of equal justice under the law of reality. that is our job in the senate. let's use this power to protect

everyone, especially families of lgbtq and our nation's future. and with that, the committee stands adjourned. adjourned. [inaudible conversations]ned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

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>> toxic effects from the production of plastics, environmental advocates discussed the fallout on human health. this public works subcommittee hearing is under two hours.