Transgender

“Denver parents Brandon and Candace are spending tens of thousands of dollars to move to New Zealand in July. The reason, they said, is to protect their 9-year-old transgender daughter, Chase, from the effects of the Trump administration’s policies and an increasingly hostile climate for trans people in the United States.”

“‘You’re taught to believe, or indoctrinated, I suppose, in America that this is the land of the free and promise and all of that, and for my child’s rights to be stripped away for just being herself is gross,’ Candace said, adding that she and her family feel like they have ‘no control over’ their future in the United States.”

“Brandon and Candace, who agreed to speak on the condition that their last names not be used to protect their family from harassment and threats, are one of five families interviewed by NBC News who have either already left or plan to leave the country as a result of federal and state policies targeting transgender people and their health care. The families described fears of increased anti-trans violence and losing access to health care and identification documents that reflect their gender identities.”

“During Donald Trump’s first presidential term, many trans people talked about leaving the country, according to Sydney Duncan, a lawyer for Advocates for Trans Equality, the country’s largest transgender rights group. However, few people actually did.”

“But while an increasing number of trans people are deciding to leave the United States, Duncan cautioned that it still isn’t a widespread trend.”

“‘The reality is that a lot of people of trans experience don’t have the resources to travel or to escape the policies of this administration,’ Duncan said.”