Good morning, and thank you for providing time for public comment. My name is Andrea. I am a trans woman from house district ten, and am one of Dr. David Cole’s constituents. I am an aerospace engineer and work on orbital launch vehicles.
I am here today to ask you to oppose HB405.
HB405 states that sex is defined at birth, that females are those with ovaries while males have testes, and that women are human females while men are human males. It then goes on to note that it is important for state law to distinguish between men and women with respect to “prisons, detention centers and bathrooms.”
This bill suggests that people should be reduced to their gonads and sorted accordingly. It suggests that a trans woman who has been on estrogen for decades and has gotten surgery to replace her genitals with a vagina should be placed in a prison among men. It suggests that a trans man who has been on testosterone for years–a man with a full beard and a deep, masculine voice–should use the women’s restroom. This is deeply inappropriate.
This bill seeks to solve a problem that does not exist. It implies that I am transitioning for nefarious purposes, that all the hormones, voice training, hair removal, legal red tape and clothing and makeup is done not because I find it affirming, but because I desperately want to wait in that long, long line outside the women’s room at the ball game.
I am transitioning because I am a woman. I decided to undergo transition after intense and agonizing consideration. My body and mind are becoming aligned, and I feel more alive than ever.
I implore you, vote no against this bill.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this bill is poor legislation, but here I am anyway.
Thank you for your time.