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Trans United Fund recently produced a moving and historic ad utilizing the voices of parents of trans children and speaking directly to the impact of the increasingly hostile rhetoric faced by the trans community. (Photo: Trans United Fund)
Moms of Trans Kids Wonder, Where's Hillary Clinton?
"Secretary Clinton, we want to believe in you. We want to know that you'll have our kids' backs."
May 27, 2016
Moms of transgender children are waiting for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to complete the national Trans United Fund's (TUF) candidate questionnaire on Friday, after the group extended its deadline to give the former secretary of state extra time to respond.
"As a mom, we know you understand the fierce love of a mother for her child; you know what it is to worry--every day--about your child's safety; you know what it is to hope and dream for a future of happiness and fulfillment," three women write in an open letter to Clinton published Friday (appearing in full below). "That's why we're reaching out directly to you--mom to mom--to ask you to follow through on your commitment to complete the Trans United Fund's candidate questionnaire today."
Amid a heated national debate over trans rights, TUF developed and distributed the first-ever presidential candidate questionnaire focused on the transgender community in April.
The group received "enthusiastic commitments" from both Democratic candidates to fill out the questionnaire, but so far only Bernie Sanders has followed through.
In fact, according to a TUF press release, the group "received a call from a Clinton campaign representative a full two weeks after the campaign had committed to complete the survey explaining that the survey was 'too long' and the campaign did not have the appropriate resources to complete it in a timely manner."
As journalist Kevin Gosztola wrote earlier this week: "For a 'frontrunner' Democratic presidential candidate, who has cast herself as the inevitable nominee, it's hard to comprehend how the campaign could not have found time to answer some questions important to trans people."
Still, TUF extended its deadline to Friday, and launched a petition urging Clinton to respond.
The three moms, whose letter is below, also created this "Meet My Child" video, "for all the trans people and their families whose stories politicians and all Americans need to hear."
Dear Secretary Clinton,
As a mom, we know you understand the fierce love of a mother for her child; you know what it is to worry--every day--about your child's safety; you know what it is to hope and dream for a future of happiness and fulfillment. That's why we're reaching out directly to you--mom to mom--to ask you to follow through on your commitment to complete the Trans United Fund's candidate questionnaire today.
Maybe you met our children in our Meet My Child video, now we're asking you to please, stand up for them. (and others like them!)
As moms of trans kids--we have a lot to worry about. Our kids face bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence that no child should fear. We are leaders in Trans United Fund Families for Equality because we want to build a world not just where our kids can be safe but where they can realize their dreams. Like all moms, we just want our kids to have a fair shot.
Secretary Clinton, we want to believe in you. We want to know that you'll have our kids backs. We need you--now--more than ever. Trans United Fund has extended the deadline once more and today that deadline expires. Mom-to-mom, we're asking you to please commit to fill out the questionnaire today.
We want a champion to believe in.
Respectfully #Waiting for Hillary,
DeShanna, Melissa, Zoila
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Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Moms of transgender children are waiting for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to complete the national Trans United Fund's (TUF) candidate questionnaire on Friday, after the group extended its deadline to give the former secretary of state extra time to respond.
"As a mom, we know you understand the fierce love of a mother for her child; you know what it is to worry--every day--about your child's safety; you know what it is to hope and dream for a future of happiness and fulfillment," three women write in an open letter to Clinton published Friday (appearing in full below). "That's why we're reaching out directly to you--mom to mom--to ask you to follow through on your commitment to complete the Trans United Fund's candidate questionnaire today."
Amid a heated national debate over trans rights, TUF developed and distributed the first-ever presidential candidate questionnaire focused on the transgender community in April.
The group received "enthusiastic commitments" from both Democratic candidates to fill out the questionnaire, but so far only Bernie Sanders has followed through.
In fact, according to a TUF press release, the group "received a call from a Clinton campaign representative a full two weeks after the campaign had committed to complete the survey explaining that the survey was 'too long' and the campaign did not have the appropriate resources to complete it in a timely manner."
As journalist Kevin Gosztola wrote earlier this week: "For a 'frontrunner' Democratic presidential candidate, who has cast herself as the inevitable nominee, it's hard to comprehend how the campaign could not have found time to answer some questions important to trans people."
Still, TUF extended its deadline to Friday, and launched a petition urging Clinton to respond.
The three moms, whose letter is below, also created this "Meet My Child" video, "for all the trans people and their families whose stories politicians and all Americans need to hear."
Dear Secretary Clinton,
As a mom, we know you understand the fierce love of a mother for her child; you know what it is to worry--every day--about your child's safety; you know what it is to hope and dream for a future of happiness and fulfillment. That's why we're reaching out directly to you--mom to mom--to ask you to follow through on your commitment to complete the Trans United Fund's candidate questionnaire today.
Maybe you met our children in our Meet My Child video, now we're asking you to please, stand up for them. (and others like them!)
As moms of trans kids--we have a lot to worry about. Our kids face bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence that no child should fear. We are leaders in Trans United Fund Families for Equality because we want to build a world not just where our kids can be safe but where they can realize their dreams. Like all moms, we just want our kids to have a fair shot.
Secretary Clinton, we want to believe in you. We want to know that you'll have our kids backs. We need you--now--more than ever. Trans United Fund has extended the deadline once more and today that deadline expires. Mom-to-mom, we're asking you to please commit to fill out the questionnaire today.
We want a champion to believe in.
Respectfully #Waiting for Hillary,
DeShanna, Melissa, Zoila
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Moms of transgender children are waiting for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to complete the national Trans United Fund's (TUF) candidate questionnaire on Friday, after the group extended its deadline to give the former secretary of state extra time to respond.
"As a mom, we know you understand the fierce love of a mother for her child; you know what it is to worry--every day--about your child's safety; you know what it is to hope and dream for a future of happiness and fulfillment," three women write in an open letter to Clinton published Friday (appearing in full below). "That's why we're reaching out directly to you--mom to mom--to ask you to follow through on your commitment to complete the Trans United Fund's candidate questionnaire today."
Amid a heated national debate over trans rights, TUF developed and distributed the first-ever presidential candidate questionnaire focused on the transgender community in April.
The group received "enthusiastic commitments" from both Democratic candidates to fill out the questionnaire, but so far only Bernie Sanders has followed through.
In fact, according to a TUF press release, the group "received a call from a Clinton campaign representative a full two weeks after the campaign had committed to complete the survey explaining that the survey was 'too long' and the campaign did not have the appropriate resources to complete it in a timely manner."
As journalist Kevin Gosztola wrote earlier this week: "For a 'frontrunner' Democratic presidential candidate, who has cast herself as the inevitable nominee, it's hard to comprehend how the campaign could not have found time to answer some questions important to trans people."
Still, TUF extended its deadline to Friday, and launched a petition urging Clinton to respond.
The three moms, whose letter is below, also created this "Meet My Child" video, "for all the trans people and their families whose stories politicians and all Americans need to hear."
Dear Secretary Clinton,
As a mom, we know you understand the fierce love of a mother for her child; you know what it is to worry--every day--about your child's safety; you know what it is to hope and dream for a future of happiness and fulfillment. That's why we're reaching out directly to you--mom to mom--to ask you to follow through on your commitment to complete the Trans United Fund's candidate questionnaire today.
Maybe you met our children in our Meet My Child video, now we're asking you to please, stand up for them. (and others like them!)
As moms of trans kids--we have a lot to worry about. Our kids face bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence that no child should fear. We are leaders in Trans United Fund Families for Equality because we want to build a world not just where our kids can be safe but where they can realize their dreams. Like all moms, we just want our kids to have a fair shot.
Secretary Clinton, we want to believe in you. We want to know that you'll have our kids backs. We need you--now--more than ever. Trans United Fund has extended the deadline once more and today that deadline expires. Mom-to-mom, we're asking you to please commit to fill out the questionnaire today.
We want a champion to believe in.
Respectfully #Waiting for Hillary,
DeShanna, Melissa, Zoila
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