[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 20311-20312]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TESTIMONY OF ASHTON NOONAN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 19, 2017

  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record testimony of 
Ashton Noonan.

       Hello, my name is Ashton Noonan, I'm 13 years old and I'm 
     transgender.
       Throughout my life I always felt and said I was a girl. I 
     loved Ariel and Wonder Woman; not Batman and Superman. People 
     would make fun of me on the playground, or ask why I wanted 
     to be a girl, but to me it just felt right.
       Every year I got older, I felt more and more uncomfortable 
     in my own skin. I

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     couldn't look on the outside like who I felt I was on the 
     inside. That was always very confusing, because why not? 
     After all, this is MY identity.
       The world is changing, and with your help we can change the 
     perception people have of the whole LGBTQ community, but 
     especially LGBTQ youth. WE need a safe space where we can be 
     supported, loved and accepted. We can and need to make ALL 
     schools that safe space for ALL children. We need YOUR 
     support to model for everyone else in the world what it is to 
     love and accept others for who they are. We could all live 
     every day for better or for worse, but together we can 
     thrive.

                          ____________________