Amy Schneider, the Oakland resident and 40-time "Jeopardy!" winner who made history as the show’s winningest woman and its first openly transgender champion, says the legislative push targeting trans people in a number of states is "really frightening."
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"They're really scary, and some of them in particular that are denying medical services to trans youth, those are life-saving medical treatments," Schneider told reporters in the White House press room, ahead of her visit with second gentleman Doug Emhoff in honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility.
"And these bills will cause the deaths of children, and that's really said to me, and it's really frightening."
Of the 238 bills state lawmakers have proposed this year that would limit the rights of LGBTQ Americans, around half of specifically affected transgender people, according to an NBC News analysis this month of data from the American Civil Liberties Union and Freedom for All Americans.
The number of anti-trans bills (154) has already surpassed last year's total (153), with introduced and implemented legislation barring transgender people of multiple ages from participating in youth sports, receiving gender-affirming health care or using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
Those totals didn't include executive actions in states like Texas where, after lawmakers failed to pass such legislation last year, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have pushed the state to investigate parents for child abuse if their children seek gender-affirming care.
Schneider said her advice for transgender children in states these states is to "hang in there."
"I think that this backlash right now is temporary," she told reporters. "I think that the country is on our side, and getting more so every day, and I think it's not going to be too long until these bills are seen as a thing of the past and no longer what we want to be as a country."
The U.S. Department of Justice wrote to state attorneys general on Thursday, warning of consequences for passing legislation discriminating against trans children, including those who seek gender-affirming care.
The Department of State also announced it will include an "X" option on passports for transgender and non-binary Americans beginning April 11, and the Transportation Security Administration said it will implement gender-neutral screening processes.
Schneider said she was "really grateful" the Biden administration celebrated the day. Although she wasn’t sure what path her own advocacy will take, she said she hoped to set an example just by being herself.
"Being a trans person out there that isn't monstrous, and isn't threatening, and is just a normal person like we all are,” she said. “The more that people like me can be seen, the harder it is to sustain the myths that are kind of driving a lot of this hate and fear."
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