Charleston: Watching politicians treat trans people as ‘subhuman’

CHARLESTON – On Primary Election Day, Ryan Alexander, of White Sulphur Springs, was in Charleston for a doctor’s appointment and said he’s thinking about equal rights for transgender people and women.

In the lead-up to the May primary, negative ads have accused candidates of supporting healthcare to help transgender kids transition and support laws to allow them to access public restrooms and play school sports.

But Alexander, a 44-year-old trans man, said politicians aren’t talking about hardships transgender people face like violence and discrimination .

“‘They just don’t matter, because they’re subhuman’ is what I feel like most lawmakers and people in our offices feel like,” he said.

Mountain State Spotlight reporters are traveling around the state, asking West Virginians what’s on their mind this primary election day. To read other stories from this series, click here.

He said he mostly keeps to himself because of the villainization of trans people. He noted that trans people are increasingly being murdered across the country.

Although he said he doesn’t follow voting records and campaigns too closely, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s campaign for governor, which has often focused on the candidate’s defense of a West Virginia law banning transgender girls from playing female sports, has concerned him.

Health care is another problem for him.

He is unable to work due to an accident at a previous job. But he noted he had to go through tolls to find the care he needed. And doctors have turned him away when they found out he was transgender.

And he’s been waiting for years to get approved for disability benefits. His lawyer tells him COVID created a backlog.

“With these politicians, what they say in their campaign that they’re going to do, if they get an office, they better by God do it,” he said. “Because you can’t just say whatever just to get what you want. You need to follow through with what your mouth is saying.”

Charleston: Watching politicians treat trans people as ‘subhuman’ appeared first on Mountain State Spotlight , West Virginia's civic newsroom.