On Wednesday morning, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley gave an opening statement for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for the Equality Act. As would not surprise anyone familiar with Grassley’s political opinions, he opposes the civil rights legislation. In his opening statement, Grassley sowed quiet hysteria by implying that the Equality Act may put faith-based organizations, like shelters and hospitals, in grave danger of survival if this bill were to become law. And what about the isolated communities who rely on these resources? Well, what about the LGBTQ folks who do, indeed, live in these communities too, and deserve care as much as anyone else? No one is trying to shutter faith-based organizations, but we do want those places to actually give everyone the care and dignity they deserve.
Grassley, of course, hit the big anti-trans GOP talking point of late: girls’ sports. Grassley talked about supporting young female athletes in his own family and used the transphobic buzzphrase “biological men” in reference to transgender girls and women. Now, covering Grassley is important because of his position in the government and how many people share his views. But, the person at today’s hearing who deserves real attention—and celebration—is 16-year-old Stella Keating, the openly transgender teenager who testified on behalf of the Equality Act. Let’s check out her statement, and some of her background in activism, below.
Keating, who shared that one of her goals is to become a civil rights attorney, talked about her hopes, dreams, and varied interests, including having a part-time job, politics, history, and the Gendercool Project she helped launched which aims to replace opinions with real experiences from and by transgender youth. That’s when she introduced herself again, saying, “Hi, I’m Stella. And I’m transgender.”
In reference to why the Equality Act is so important to her life, Keating, who shared that she currently lives in a state with equal protections, said, "What happens if I want to attend a college in a state that doesn’t protect me? Right now, I could be denied medical care or be evicted simply for being transgender in many states. How is that even right? How is that even American? What if I’m offered a dream job in a state where I can be discriminated against? Even if my employer is supportive, I have to live somewhere.”
She asked perhaps the most poignant question of the afternoon, including, "Why am I having to worry about all this at the age of 16?"
Then Keating replied to questions, with a focus on the Equality Act and sports and education, as opened by Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin. Given that Keating is herself both a teenager and high school student, Sen. Durbin asked for Keating’s reaction to the “point” about transgender women participating in sports and to elaborate on the concerns she has about what she might face in college.
Keating shared that she is not a super “sporty” person but that she considered joining the girls’ bowling team at her school because she wanted to hang out with her peers. “I can tell you the majority of transgender people who join sports just want to hang out with their friends,” she stressed. She said that the Equality Act would help her to feel safe going to college wherever she fell in a love with a school, even if it doesn’t exist inside her state.
You can learn more about Keating from an op-ed she wrote for Teen Vogue back in 2018.
You can watch Grassley’s opening statement below.
And you can watch a clip of Keating’s testimony below.
