[Sandy Hook] was the one that was supposed to make a difference. It wasn’t a high school. The victims were 20 first graders, 6-year-olds, along with six staff members. But the numbers indicate nothing much has changed. Sandy Hook turned out to be not a call to action, but a gruesome standard from which all inaction can be judged.

The hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic Congress that I so deeply respect.

I am here today because I believe Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy.

The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.

As for the notion of standing on your own, it’s no longer considered honorable or desirable. It makes you suspect, if not ridiculous.

I actually hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary, but until then, I am going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that is accepting, that is compassionate.

NFL player Carl Nassib coming out to his followers during Pride Month, making NFL history as the first openly gay player

Human rights require a dedication to equality at every intersection of life.

By truly embracing transgender equality, I believe we can all begin to define what it means to be a man or a woman on our own terms and liberate ourselves from the gender oppression we impose on ourselves and each other.

Being exceptional isn’t revolutionary, it’s lonely. It separates you from your community. Who are you, really, without community? I have been held up consistently as a token, as the “right” kind of trans woman (educated, able-bodied, attractive, articulate, heteronormative). It promotes the delusion that because I “made it,” that level of success is easily accessible to all young trans women. Let’s be clear: It is not.