A small excerpt from the speech I gave today at the capitol for the We Say Gay rally organized by the incredible people at @iowaqsa. . I am filled with both love of my community and RAGE at the Iowa lawmakers who are stripping away the rights of trans youth in our state who are seeking gender-affirming care. I am enraged and saddened, but never, ever hopeless and never, ever helpless. . WE TAKE CARE OF US. . If you are a trans person in Iowa looking for support, PLEASE reach out to me. I love you. I need you. The world needs you. 🤍 . Photo by @colbycampbell.jpg . [ID: A photograph of a mixed-race, transgender human with short, dark hair. They are wearing a blue blazer and black&white neck scarf, holding a microphone and speaking into it with an expression of both anger and joy. They are standing behind a podium with the pride flag of Des Moines on it. There is text overlaying the image that reads, “As trans people, we are living evidence of the possibility of a more beautiful world. Transness exists in languages that are as old as the earth itself and our transness is creating new languages that have not yet been spoken. We are the very embodiment of creativity, curiosity, compassion, and love, and in us is the divine truth that to be trans is to know oneself; to love oneself. We have always been here - And we will ALWAYS be here. -Jasper Chung”]