"My name is Riley Smith, and I am testifying in opposition to AB311 and AB400. I am a trans woman, and these bills would only put me in danger. When I go to a bar, or the airport, a bank, or any other location that would require me to show my driver's license, I am under the unique risk of having an ID that doesn't quite match my figure. The photo is of a younger me without my long hair, the name is completely different than what everyone knows me by. The gender marker isn't what you would expect.
When I have to show my id, I am forced to out myself. That means that anyone who sees my id and how it doesn't match my description will know that I am trans. And believe it or not, but people have questioned my id before. They don't think my driver's license is mine, because it looks like a completely different person! Sometimes they want to cut it up because they think it's a fake! What is the point of a form of identification if I am not the person on the ID?
Trans people need to be able to change their gender marker. Just like how we need to be able to change our name. Just like how everyone changes names due to marriage, address due to moving states, photo because we ALL look different over time. It is for safety, efficiency, and the effectiveness of identification that this bill cannot pass.
I am actually a relatively new resident to Wisconsin. I moved here from Texas about a year ago. I know EXACTLY where bills like these go. In Texas, they couldn't pass a bill that prevented trans people from changing their gender marker. So instead, their governor instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety to draw up a list of trans people who submitted paperwork to change their ID. They prevented these changes unilaterally, and sent CPS to the homes of those trans people's families to try to take away their kids. Committee, those were death lists. And the political agenda I see behind this bill would want no less than the same thing. Because you would rather endanger our lives than make actual improvements the effectiveness of your recordkeeping.
And on the bill that exposes health care providers to legal action for providing medical care to my community: this committee is willfully choosing to ignore the research that supports this healthcare in accordance with every major medical organization in the United States.
You are going after those medical services which means that they CHOOSE TO STOP providing care to us. Because they fear losing a lawsuit, losing their license because they provided quality healthcare. Because they did their job. Because they improved the lives of trans people like me.
To answer a question presented earlier during this hearing: yes, you are increasing the suicide rate of trans people. It is your fault. I'm 22 years old, but right now I feel like I've been in this public hearing for decades. Because after this hearing today we are all going to go home. And the members of the committee will go back to their families and relax. But I can't go home to relax, but this stuff never leaves me. And it never leaves my family, because my family is all the other trans people who couldn't or didn't feel safe enough to come to the capitol today. And that's why I have to come here and urge you to vote against AB311 and AB400."
"My name is Riley Smith and I am testifying in opposition to SB 120. I am coming to you as a trans woman as well as an educator. Around a year ago, I testified against a bill very similar to this when I was a resident in Texas, so this isn't my first rodeo. Their bill outlined a policy of not allowing teachers in Texas public schools to use names or pronouns for a student that did not reflect their legal name and sex assigned at birth. Penalties were put on the school district for classrooms that did not comply.
This bill is disturbingly similar. Of course we know that the true intent of this bill is that of preventing trans kids from changing the name they go by in school. Because not only is the state hellbent on preventing trans people from recieving life-saving healthcare in accordance with every major medical organization in the United States, but you also want to force trans kids from socially transitioning, in which changing your name is something that is actually "reversible". You provide exceptions in this bill for cisgender kids with nicknames and affidavits, but for the trans kid whose parents may not support their name change or maybe just don't even know they have to submit all of this paperwork on behalf of their kid, there are no ways forward.
I'll be honest, this is only my second time at the Wisconsin capitol. I don't submit testimony because it's fun, I do it because I'm angry, I'm scared, and more than any of that, I'm tired. I hate coming here and doing this, but i still do because, believe it or not, I was a trans kid once. And let me tell you, it is a heavy weight to know that your country would rather lesiglate you to death at the expense of a strained education system. Like a dog who bites off its own leg.
At the end of the day, this is unnecessary administrative burden for both teachers and school admin. My peers in education see bills like these as oppositional to the fundamental purpose of schools: to TEACH and prepare students for their future as functional and discerning members of society. I urge the committee to vote against on SB 120."
CSPAN Video (timestamp 1:16:30)
"My name is Riley, I am representing myself, and I am testifying against HB 1655. I have experience being both a teacher and trans in Texas schools, but today I will speak as a teacher. From lesson planning, to classroom management, to grading, to communicating with parents and administration, teachers have so many things to manage each and every day in the classroom.
I have the privilege of knowing some of the most talented and experienced teachers in Texas. When they talk about strategies to engage students, to get them excited to be in a learning environment, the first thing they say is to make flashcards and learn each child's name. When I call on a student by their name, I am telling them that I know who they are, and that I respect them as young learners. However, if that isn't the name they go by at home or with their friends, then it sends the complete opposite message: that I don't know who they are, and I couldn't care less.
As teachers, we go through rigorous training and real classroom experience in order to get our teaching certification. The state has already increased the number of field hours required for teachers in training to get their license, and we are beginning to see these additional requirements playing a role in reducing the retention rate for some certification programs.
At the end of the day, this bill only serves to bully schools and teachers into complying with a vague and frankly obscure rule, with dangerous consequences that go against the purpose of schools: to educate kids. Please don't force Texas teachers to become lawyers, too. Please vote no on this harmful bill."
have any questions? want to connect? reach out to me at my bluesky!