Since May of 2023, The Stranger has kept in touch with several transgender adults as they fled to blue states to seek refuge from laws passed this year in red states, including policies that restricted or outright banned their health care and challenged their ability to participate fully in public life.
These firsthand accounts detail how this legislation drastically altered the lives of normal people—like wage-workers, engineers, corporate employees, and college students—many of whom decided to leave their homes for the first time.