1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I urge you to reject the discriminatory bills introduced in Missouri’s 2025 legislative session that target LGBTQ+ individuals. These proposals—such as removing the expiration date from the transgender youth healthcare ban, restricting birth certificate amendments, and overturning local conversion therapy bans—undermine equality, public health, and Missouri’s national reputation. Lawmakers must protect, not politicize, the rights of all Missourians. Medical experts, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, agree that gender-affirming care is safe, effective, and often lifesaving. Banning such care causes real harm to transgender youth, who already face alarming rates of depression and suicide. According to The Trevor Project, more than 50% of transgender and nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide in the past year (The Trevor Project, 2023). Codifying discrimination into law will only increase these risks. The bill to block transgender people from amending birth certificates is another attempt to erase their existence. Accurate documentation is essential for everything from employment to housing. Denying people that basic dignity is not conservative governance—it’s government overreach. Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s lawsuit against Kansas City and Jackson County for banning conversion therapy ignores the fact that this practice has been condemned as dangerous by nearly every major medical and psychological association in the country (GLAAD, 2025). Missourians deserve policies rooted in evidence and compassion—not fear or ideology. These bills do not solve real problems; they create new ones by pushing vulnerable people further to the margins. I urge you to stand for Missouri’s values of fairness and freedom by rejecting these harmful proposals and affirming the dignity of all citizens.