It should happen! This is is my list of "probably should be federal laws" for the United States so that there isn't a ton of nonsensical variance state to state. Right now, you can go from some pretty good protections like in California, to worse than none, like in Texas.
In order of most to least important:
1. I think it should be illegal in any US state or territory for a transgender person to be fired, evicted, denied medical care or public accommodation ect ect based on their status as being transgender as the starting point.
2. This would also mean that every state's public healthcare would be required by law to cover therapy, hormone replacement therapy, any mastectomy, any other medication or surgery associated with transitioning such as a vaginoplasty or mastectomy. Since gender dysphoria is a medically recognized condition with decades of evidence and proof through clinical treatment backing it I see no reason why this shouldn't be the case. Such treatment should be as easy to obtain as any other similar care for similar types of issues (endocrine, hormonal, ect).
3. The medical coverage should also include the cost of medication and travel (for those who don't know medicaid covers travel costs for treatment so long as you have proof) to see specialists, and it should be possible to get doctors out of network to be paid on programs such as medicaid since in some rural areas (such as where I lived in West Virginia) there is little to no options for in state care. Refusing treatment on the basis of one being transgender should be illegal as it's discrimination. This is something I faced with doctors refusing to treat me so I know the harm of cases like that.
4. Likewise every state will be required to recognize the transitioned person's legally changed birth markers n their birth certificate and ID (in Texas for example they don't recognize either last I checked) and provide a non-gate keeping method by which one can change those markers. I also think that name changes should be approved without discrimination and without a requirement that the transgender person post their legal name change in the paper or any other public forum (as is the law with name changes in places like West Virginia). This can be accomplished by the fact that those states already provide certain exceptions to publishing the name changes in public papers and forums. This would be one such one.
5?. This need not be a law, but could be accomplished by one of the many regulating bodies, but similarly, and I know this since a lot of my family is/has been in the medical field, but doctors and nurses learn a ton about so many obscure diseases and ailments they will likely never see, but every doctor is going to have at least one, if not more transgender patients in their time. So there should be some way to ensure that there is at least, in medical school, retrainings or otherwise, a section on some type of recognized transgender standards of care. Again this need not be a "law" but could be accomplished by the many doctor's associations' guidelines that we have in this country.
6. Furthermore, I think it should be required in the eyes of the law to be a hate crime to attack any transgender person for using a sexed restroom or for being transgender. Before I moved I had more than one incident (one due to using the men's room at a mall, and one for using the women's room at work) that both almost resulted in an attack that I narrowly escaped both times (former due to quick thinking and latter due to intervention).
7. I also think that there should be protection against retaliation in employment, housing, public accommodation, ect ect of any transgender person trying to use the restroom that matches what they are transitioning or have transitioned to. This isn't to say that any specific place is *forced* to have a policy allowing them to use the restroom of their gender, just that if they try push the issue that they can't be retaliated against.
8. That said, I also think that if they have legally changed the gender marker on their ID and/or birth certificate or any other similar documentation that is used for identification, that the venue, workplace, public accommodation ect should be required to let them use the restroom that
9. A little bit of a tangent, but also any single occupancy restrooms anywhere in the country should follow California's example and have them by law be required to be unisex. I also think they should be required to be handicap accessible. This would make it easier for those not able to deal with sexed restrooms or in certain unsafe areas a better alternative. Many people prefer single occupancy anyway so people would likely not know.
I'm sure I could think of more, in which we are discriminated in ways that would be unthinkable (or illegal) if it was for our sex, race or religion ect. But in order from most important to least important, this is what I can think of.
In order of most to least important:
1. I think it should be illegal in any US state or territory for a transgender person to be fired, evicted, denied medical care or public accommodation ect ect based on their status as being transgender as the starting point.
2. This would also mean that every state's public healthcare would be required by law to cover therapy, hormone replacement therapy, any mastectomy, any other medication or surgery associated with transitioning such as a vaginoplasty or mastectomy. Since gender dysphoria is a medically recognized condition with decades of evidence and proof through clinical treatment backing it I see no reason why this shouldn't be the case. Such treatment should be as easy to obtain as any other similar care for similar types of issues (endocrine, hormonal, ect).
3. The medical coverage should also include the cost of medication and travel (for those who don't know medicaid covers travel costs for treatment so long as you have proof) to see specialists, and it should be possible to get doctors out of network to be paid on programs such as medicaid since in some rural areas (such as where I lived in West Virginia) there is little to no options for in state care. Refusing treatment on the basis of one being transgender should be illegal as it's discrimination. This is something I faced with doctors refusing to treat me so I know the harm of cases like that.
4. Likewise every state will be required to recognize the transitioned person's legally changed birth markers n their birth certificate and ID (in Texas for example they don't recognize either last I checked) and provide a non-gate keeping method by which one can change those markers. I also think that name changes should be approved without discrimination and without a requirement that the transgender person post their legal name change in the paper or any other public forum (as is the law with name changes in places like West Virginia). This can be accomplished by the fact that those states already provide certain exceptions to publishing the name changes in public papers and forums. This would be one such one.
5?. This need not be a law, but could be accomplished by one of the many regulating bodies, but similarly, and I know this since a lot of my family is/has been in the medical field, but doctors and nurses learn a ton about so many obscure diseases and ailments they will likely never see, but every doctor is going to have at least one, if not more transgender patients in their time. So there should be some way to ensure that there is at least, in medical school, retrainings or otherwise, a section on some type of recognized transgender standards of care. Again this need not be a "law" but could be accomplished by the many doctor's associations' guidelines that we have in this country.
6. Furthermore, I think it should be required in the eyes of the law to be a hate crime to attack any transgender person for using a sexed restroom or for being transgender. Before I moved I had more than one incident (one due to using the men's room at a mall, and one for using the women's room at work) that both almost resulted in an attack that I narrowly escaped both times (former due to quick thinking and latter due to intervention).
7. I also think that there should be protection against retaliation in employment, housing, public accommodation, ect ect of any transgender person trying to use the restroom that matches what they are transitioning or have transitioned to. This isn't to say that any specific place is *forced* to have a policy allowing them to use the restroom of their gender, just that if they try push the issue that they can't be retaliated against.
8. That said, I also think that if they have legally changed the gender marker on their ID and/or birth certificate or any other similar documentation that is used for identification, that the venue, workplace, public accommodation ect should be required to let them use the restroom that
9. A little bit of a tangent, but also any single occupancy restrooms anywhere in the country should follow California's example and have them by law be required to be unisex. I also think they should be required to be handicap accessible. This would make it easier for those not able to deal with sexed restrooms or in certain unsafe areas a better alternative. Many people prefer single occupancy anyway so people would likely not know.
I'm sure I could think of more, in which we are discriminated in ways that would be unthinkable (or illegal) if it was for our sex, race or religion ect. But in order from most important to least important, this is what I can think of.