Heath: Our kids deserve better

On Friday nights at our offices in Portsmouth you’ll hear the sound of laughter coming from one of the many classrooms in our building. You are likely to see a group of middle and high school students working on an art project, debriefing their school week, or talking about their latest crush. They come from diverse families and backgrounds across the Seacoast (and beyond). What ties them together is their experience as LGBTQ+ youth and students. They have an opportunity to be seen, heard, and held in a community of their peers. It is my incredible privilege as the Executive Director of Seacoast Outright to help create space for community and joy in a time when our kids (and their families) are increasingly under attack.

I have long been proud that New Hampshire has consistently, and clearly, supported the rights of LGBTQ+ Granite Staters, and in particular, those of our LGBTQ+ youth. In 2018, Governor Sununu signed a landmark transgender anti-discrimination bill into law. This bill offered critical protections in housing, public accommodations, and more for transgender Granite Staters. He also signed a bill that banned the harmful practice of conversion therapy for minors. Governor Sununu did the right thing then. My question is: what about now, Governor?

The last two years have seen unprecedented attacks on LGBTQ+ youth. We stand on the precipice of the passage of multiple pieces of devastating legislation for transgender youth and their families in New Hampshire. Despite a resounding defeat last May, we are again facing a bill that forcibly outs students to their parents. The legislature is considering multiple bans on the participation of transgender girls in sports, and a major dismantling of the 2018 non-discrimination protections our Governor was eager to sign just five years ago. But this time around, Sununu has been silent.

On behalf of LGBTQ+ youth and families across the Granite State, I want to be loud and clear: nothing has changed since 2018, Governor Sununu. Instead, the national climate for LGBTQ+ youth has gotten more hostile, not less.

Middle school and high school are hard enough already - for all kids. Being trans in this climate makes it even harder. They don't need politicians bullying them by allowing these dangerous bills to become law.

There is a deep and profound cost to the dehumanizing rhetoric we are seeing at the State House and the silence we are seeing from Governor Sununu. We see its impact every day at Seacoast Outright. Our kids and their families are terrified and struggling. We have lost youth in the LGBTQ+ community in New Hampshire to suicide in the last year as a result of having to watch their personhood be debated by those who are charged to protect and care for them.

The Trevor Project recently released a statistic that 47% of transgender and non-binary youth believe their chances of living to 35 are low. My heart breaks when I read that data, and yet, I understand why it can feel that way. They see too few adults working to protect and care for them, and far too many doing the opposite.

All of our kids deserve to be safe at school. They deserve confidential access to safe adults to process their coming out stories and identities on their own terms. They deserve access to spaces and places they need to thrive.

All of our kids deserve the protective factors that come with being part of a team sport. What young person doesn’t hope for a deeper sense of belonging, the camaraderie of their peers, and a chance to excel at something? This is an essential piece of growing up.

Instead, we are on the cusp of making schools less safe and taking away access to sports. Our kids deserve better than this, Governor Sununu. Seacoast Outright’s kids, your kids, and all of the children of the Granite State deserve better.

This is an opportunity to remember your own words from 2018: “Discrimination – in any form – is unacceptable and runs contrary to New Hampshire's Live Free or Die Spirit. If we really want to be the Live Free or Die State, we must ensure that New Hampshire is a place where every person, regardless of their background, has an equal and full opportunity to pursue their dreams and to make a better life for themselves and their families.”

At our Outright parents and caregivers group we ask the question: who are you here for? I’ll ask that same question to you, Governor. Who are YOU here for? Our state’s LGBTQ+ youth deserve to know. It’s time for you to speak up now. Granite Staters are waiting.

Heidi Carrington Heath (she/hers) serves as the Executive Director of Seacoast Outright, NH's oldest LGBTQ+ organization. Seacoast Outright serves, supports, and advocates for LGBTQ+ youth across New Hampshire. Heidi is passionate about building a Granite State where all of NH's kids can thrive. She lives in Exeter.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Heath: Our kids deserve better