Eli Rivas is a junior at Colton High School. He likes to play guitar, attend after school clubs and hang out with his friends.
Eli is also one of the few on campus who identify as transgender.
Recently, he shared concerns about bills proposed to the California legislature that could change how our transgender community is treated both on and off campus. Two proposed bills, “AB 600 Pupil instruction: Transgender Concepts: Opt Out” and “AB 579 Yaeli’s Law,” are discriminatory attacks towards transgender students.
“As a trans person myself, I feel like it’s unfair for transgender people to not be able to be open about how they feel,” said Eli. “And also just have to be scared to be who they are.”
These two bills, currently under review by California’s legislature, have received harsh criticism and concern for the potential harm their passing could cause transgender students.
AB 600, introduced in February, gives parents the power to excuse their children from lessons involving “transgender concepts.” “Concepts” include: exploration of gender identity and identifying with genders other than those assigned at birth. This directly singles out transgender designation as shameful, and violates trans students’ constitutional rights of equal protection and access to information, encouraging a hostile environment.
AB 579 protects parents from child abuse charges for misgendering or denying their child gender affirming care. This bill could allow parents to legally neglect their child’s gender dysphoria, prevent Child Protective Services from intervening, or protect transgender youth and teens well-being.
Joshua Home, an LGBTQ+ safe haven, is an organization that provides housing and resources to LGBTQ+ youth in the Inland Empire. CEO Annette Patterson is worried how these bills will impact both the rights of trans children and funding for the programs designed to support them.
Patterson shared that these bills could cause “more isolation and division among students, singling out transgender students, which could also affect funding for LGBTQ+ organizations like Joshua Home.”
Additionally, Patterson’s worried how the passage of bills like these can cause the “watering and rewriting” of history. For example, by taking out the importance of transgender women in the historic Stonewall riots from school curriculum.
She also stated that lack of funding could “mark an epidemic of self harm” among kids and teens who are in the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Statistically speaking, 18% of LGBTQ youth have attempted suicide, a rate 2 times higher than the general teenage population according to the Trevor Project.
Though the proposed bills put organizations like Joshua Home and others at risk, Patterson has hope. “There is help out there, don’t give up,” she said. “Whether it be Joshua Home, the Trevor Project, or anything else, you are not alone. We are here for you, we are standing with you, and we support you.”
These bills come on the heels of nationwide attacks on the trans and LGBTQ+ communities. For the past year, conservatives have been very vocal about the inclusion of trans athletes in organized sports. And in August, the Supreme Court was formally asked to overturn the 2015 ruling in Obergefell vs. Hodges, which legalized gay marriage.
For Eli, this has a personal impact. “I do have an uncle that is gay, and I’m kind of worried about his marriage because they do have a family.”
A lot of students, including myself, now feel violated and concerned about our rights and safety.
Eli’s experience at CHS has mostly been positive in regard to acceptance, but he has heard stories of others who have been bullied because of their identity. He says CHS staff are generally supportive of people in the LGBTQ+ spectrum. However, he’s unsure if the school can entirely protect students’ rights when it comes to potential laws that could result in LGBTQ+ discrimination.
Overall, these bills pose serious harm to the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. They infringe on both our constitutional rights and our human rights. Despite the discrimination, our community still stands strong and visible when the government would rather we stay invisible and hidden.
For those who identify as LGBTQ+, Eli sends a positive message, “Be who you are . . . Don’t let what other people say put you down. Just be yourself.”