The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is very pleased to share an article by Elton published in The Hill about North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 law that, among other things, requires transgender public school students to use restrooms for the gender assigned on their birth certificate.

This stigma and discrimination aimed at transgender people are among the primary drivers of the AIDS epidemic. For instance, transgender women have tremendous difficulties finding employment and may resort to sex work in order to survive. Without health insurance, many cannot afford the medical care they need. Is it any wonder, then, that transgender women are 49 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population? North Carolina’s discriminatory bill only exacerbates these problems and creates no solutions for making all our lives better.

“The failure of Gov. McCrory and other lawmakers to see this is a failure of compassion, a failure to recognize the difficult and frequently unwelcoming world transgender people must navigate every day – stigmatized by the fear and ignorance of others,” said Elton. “Fighting that stigma with love and empathy is at core of what we do at the Elton John AIDS Foundation.”

We urge you to read this timely op-ed.

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