Protect progress 

As a mom, a teacher, and your state Assembly representative, it is my honor and my duty to serve in a way that fosters safe, affirming, and inclusive communities. It is my job to make sure our laws and our budget do the same.

For a democracy to thrive, it is essential that all people—not just some people—receive the respect, appreciation, and opportunities they deserve.

Tragically, LGBTQIA-plus children and adults experience the dehumanizing effects of bullying, suicide, sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, lack of health care, and being unhoused at higher rates than others. A wave of assaults on transgender youth on school campuses has left many students and families afraid in places they should feel the safest—our institutions of learning. These experiences are often exacerbated for LGBTQIA-plus people of color and those who are undocumented, have lower incomes, or live in rural communities.

I am proud to say that the California Legislature has the backs of the LGBTQIA-plus community. In the Legislature, my colleagues and I are working to pass legislation that continues to uplift and protect LGBTQIA-plus children and adults.

This includes codifying the right to same-sex marriage in the California Constitution (ACA 5), providing educators with tools and training to support LGBTQIA-plus students (AB 5), ensuring health insurance policies provided to Californians include coverage for gender-affirming care (AB 1432), making sure institutions bear responsibility for ending childhood sexual assault (AB 452), providing security grant funding to nonprofits that are at high risk of violent attacks or hate crimes (AB 1185), and much, much more.

This legislation is the product of the most diverse state Legislature in U.S. history. California is the first state to have an openly LGBTQIA-plus state Senate leader, and the first in our nation to reach parity for LGBTQIA-plus people—10 percent in both the California Legislature and the general population. The intersex-inclusive Pride progress flag hangs in the Capitol rotunda to celebrate Pride Month.

While we have made progress, division and violence often leave us in despair, and laws alone will not create the society we want. It is up to each of us to make a difference. There is no shortage of ways to do this.

It starts with listening to the LGBTQIA-plus community, then taking action to create real and meaningful structural change. Collectively, we must continue to show up, speak up, vote, run for office, and remain vigilant in protecting the progress we have made. It is our responsibility to ensure inclusivity for all, not just a selected few.

Today, our democracy is both as fragile and resilient as it has ever been, because the people in it are both as under attack and as strong as they have been for generations. Together we must work for the LGBTQIA-plus community, and our democracy as a whole, so that all people can experience the safe and affirming environment that each of us deserves to live and thrive in. Δ

Dawn Addis was elected to the California State Assembly in 2022 to represent the 30th Assembly District. Send a response for publication to [email protected].