When I came out as transgender in 2019, I was completely ignorant of Utah’s prevailing political ideology. I was just a kid who told my family I was a boy, and I had no interest in the upcoming election or the future of trans rights. If I could go back in time and tell that boy to get more involved in state politics, I would. That might have prepared him for the next five years of false promises, dishonest legislatures, and horrible elections.
My first exposure to transgender rights was when HB11 was introduced in 2022. A few months later, I was scheduled to compete in school-sanctioned sports, but I worried this would be impossible. I was disappointed in lawmakers who tried to restrict a very small minority of teenage athletes, but I felt safe in a governor who was willing to fight for us and vetoed a bill that would have banned transgender girls from participating in high school sports. Governor Cox said it would be OK. As a young and naive Utah resident who had never been let down by politicians, I believed this empty promise.
More than halfway through Governor Cox’s term, the Utah Legislature stepped in to address my medical issues. My family and I spent dozens of hours attending legislative hearings. A year after I, my parents, and my doctor decided to begin hormone replacement therapy, Governor Cox signed SB16, a bill that indefinitely banned minors from beginning gender-affirming treatment. Although I was given “special treatment” and was not required to immediately stop my treatment, I knew that somewhere in Utah there was a child who was going through the wrong puberty, just like me, and who was not receiving the medical care he needed.
Anti-transgender laws robbed me of my childhood innocence. It was then that I lost faith in Utah’s elected leaders’ ability to protect me. Governor Cox broke his promises. That could no longer be tolerated.
By the 2024 legislative session, I couldn’t bear to go into the Utah State Capitol. I was too tired to fight, too tired to listen. HB257, a ban on transgender bathrooms, was introduced almost immediately. It quickly passed the state legislature and was on Governor Cox’s desk. I never saw the urgency of passing a bill that would rip apart transgender students, adults, and children. I never thought people would be so enthusiastic about discrimination. I somehow still trusted our governor, despite his empty promises in the anti-trans bills he signed earlier. I still believed he could do the right thing. Governor Cox took only one day to consider signing the bill, even though he had 10 days to do so. His signing hurt the very people he once called his allies.
Where was Governor Cox who cited transgender suicide statistics in vetoing HB11? Where was Governor Cox who said he would fight for me? Where was Governor Cox who called for unity?
Governor Cox has lost his way in the pursuit of political points in his bid for reelection. He is no longer the Utah leader who gave a heartfelt speech about the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. Instead, he is one of many across the country who are using so-called “conservative values” to score cheap political points at the expense of living people. He is substituting values for votes.
Restricting transgender rights should not strengthen political movements. It should not strengthen discrimination of any kind. Transgender issues are not political issues, they are simply human rights issues.
Cox’s victory in the Republican primary put him one step closer to another four years in office, but it will come at the expense of transgender people in Utah. In 2022, I trusted Governor Cox to protect me. Now, I feel like I’m nothing more than a tool in his campaign.
I don’t want Governor Cox to go back to the days when he prioritized compassion for transgender youth over political party. I’m not asking for an apology. I just want my life back. I’m a friend, a student, an athlete, a son, a brother. But most simply, I’m a human being. I’m a human being, not a pawn. Transgender youth are not a political ploy. We are so much more than that.
Leo Pickron is an intern with Alliance for a Better Utah.
Leo Pickron (he/him) is an intern with Alliance for a Better Utah and a high school senior in Salt Lake City.
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