Transgender youth in the United States are navigating an increasingly hostile political climate. In 2025 alone, lawmakers have passed 124 anti-trans bills, fueling misinformation and emboldening discrimination. My family has been directly impacted by this hateful rhetoric and legislation because my sister, Leah Burns, is transgender. Leah is a senior at Great River School in St. Paul, a figure skater for SQSA Parade, and a transgender woman.
From 8th to 11th grade, Leah attended school in the Minneapolis public school system, where she experienced many instances of discrimination. She has had classmates write slurs in her notebook, gotten yelled at by students on a passing school bus, and even had someone take her phone and post a video to her social media that degraded trans people. Imagine if your school day included being called slurs by your classmates and having dehumanizing comments posted to your social media without you knowing. This is Leah’s reality. My sister should not have to worry about these things, especially when she is in a place meant for learning.
Recently, my family has felt the effects of Trump’s legislation more than ever. A bill entitled “Category Policy for US. Figure Skating Sanctioned Competitions” has changed the certainty of Leah’s ability to compete in US figure skating competitions. This bill states that, “US Figure Skating sanctioned competitions that include a Female Category (‘girls’ and/or ‘women’ as referenced in the U.S. Figure Skating Rulebook) must limit participation in that category to athletes who were assigned female at birth.” Leah has a figure skating competition coming up in Duluth, and she, along with her coaching staff, are worried if she will be eligible to compete or if she will be forced to withdraw from the competition. Leah believes that if this bill were enforced, “it would be a detriment to people’s mental health. It will out people and, in turn, cause rejection.” She also said that if she were forced to compete in the men’s category, she would choose not to participate in figure skating competitions at all. Leah also stated that figure skating should not be concerned with someone’s gender assigned at birth, because participants are judged solely based on technique and artistry. When the Trump Administration targets such a small group like transgender athletes, it creates a societal norm that legitimizes discrimination against already vulnerable communities. Being able to participate in sports should not be something anyone has to fight for; Leah should not be singled out because she is living in a way that is true to herself.
Leah’s message to those who question her identity, or whether or not she should be restricted from something like figure skating, is: “You don’t know me. You don’t know my life. I have been through so much, so why is your opinion about me based on my gender or what I identify as? People should not chastise you, hate-crime you, or even question your very existence because of how you present yourself. I am not hurting you.”
