Merging Waters Priority Action & Justice Issues

Transgender Rights

“Ever since I was a schoolgirl, I’ve had a strong sense of fairness. I didn’t like being told that girls or women couldn’t do certain things, or that men were somehow superior. Based on my dislike of being treated unfairly, I came to believe that nobody should be judged by characteristics they can’t control, nor should an entire group of people be subject to discrimination or mistreatment. Gender is biological, not a choice, and so I  believe that transgender people should have the same rights that any other person has.” - Kathy Burek, Action and Justice Team Member

Many Americans do not understand what it means to be transgender. Hateful rhetoric and deliberate misinformation have generated a great deal of fear and hostility toward transgender people. Discriminatory legislation has been enacted in many states, and our federal government is erasing transgender people from the public record. Transgender people are being denied gender-affirming care. This is wrong, and such harmful actions violate values I’ve held since I was a child.

Our Unitarian Universalist Association, of which Merging Waters UU Congregation is a member, is organized on the values of Justice, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, and Generosity, with Love at the Center. Merging Waters’ Values includes Courageous Love. Members of Merging Waters feel those values deeply and try to live them in our actions.  Supporting the basic rights of transgender people is one of the ways we live our values.