Bruce Larson lives in Albany.

I wonder what happened to the ethos of New Hampshire embodied in our motto, “Live Free or Die,” and the pioneer spirit that has been the hallmark of our state since 1788.

With a tiny number of people who identify as trans — 1.2% according to expert polling — why is our legislature spending so much energy on identifying, vilifying and scapegoating this group? I can only guess that their agenda is so weak that, without a group to direct bigoted vitriol upon, they wouldn’t get any notice.

I wrote a letter to Gov. Ayotte in response to the passing of five bills that restrict the rights of people whose chosen genders differ from their birth gender. Last year, Gov. Sununu vetoed HB 396, which would have taken back basic rights of citizens who identify as trans. This year, the House came back with the same bill, HB 148, along with a host of related bills to deprive people of their gender choices.

I urge Gov. Ayotte to veto this raft of anti-trans bills narrowly passed by our legislature.

Our family has a person who has changed their gender identity. For us, it was a time of confusion and overcoming a huge learning curve. Their transition forced us to look at our own prejudices and fears from a very close vantage point. As teachers, my partner and I were exposed to several children who chose a different gender. In both cases, they were supported by parents, teachers and friends and were able to proceed in elementary school fairly normally. Under these new laws, that will no longer be possible.

In our tiny north country area, we have come to know many people who identify with a new gender. They are creative, talented, kind, loyal and threaten no one. They maintain their beauty in life with bravery and face challenges few of us face.

We now live daily with fear for their safety and well-being in society at large. The scapegoating and demeaning language being promoted by some politicians shows the side of humanity which I thought ended in 1945. Our trans neighbors, co-workers, fellow parishioners and taxpayers are people, too.

The medical facts show that up to 60 genetic gender variations exist with hermaphrodism being only one of the more common manifestations. By defining the issue as black-and-white, all of those people are left out of the equation. Gender dysphoria is a condition recognized in the DSM-5, the standard diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals in the United States. It describes a significant and persistent incongruence between an individual’s experienced or expressed gender and the sex they were assigned at birth. Are all of our legislators licensed, medical doctors or psychiatrists?

I believe this misguided, bigoted and misleading effort is a smoke screen for more diabolical themes of fascism and the abandonment of personal freedoms essential to our identity as New Hampshire citizens.

It is false to say that we are protecting children when we have stripped schools of classes on health, parenting and the basics of child rearing in the name of ‘parental rights’ and saving a few tax dollars. My 40+ years as a teacher have shown me the range of abusive parental behaviors by ‘normal’ heterosexual parents is vast compared to the number of trans individuals in the state who are not abusive in any way.

I am secure enough in my own gender identity that I am not threatened by someone who is different from me. I welcome people who are different, whether it is their country of origin, neurodivergent behavior or gender identity. I hope Gov. Ayotte is, too, and that she will veto these bills when they cross her desk.