A pivotal moment for the Kilpatrick family happened at a McDonald’s drive thru. Katie Kilpatrick had made driver’s seat concessions for years to pass along the request for a “girl toy” with the happy meal for her youngest child, who had been assigned male at birth. It was always just easier to honor the plea. F, (she/her and now 15), had after all insisted that she was a girl since she was 18 months old. And this wasn’t hard for her parents to believe, based on the evidence. She always opted to play pretend as a female character. She identified as all the Disney princesses. Every self-portrait their toddler drew presented herself in the feminine form. So despite their traditional upbringings in the LDS faith, Katie and her husband of 25 years, Don, had no problem sneaking a baby doll or two into the cart of holiday gifts for their youngest “son.” But the holidays always brewed a little stressful as cultural and church norms pressured them and others to refrain from giving little F the milieu of pretty, pastel Christmas gifts she desired. And now, once again she was requesting the “girl toy.”

Michael Soto’s is a name widely known and respected in the LGBTQ+ equality space. As the former director and now President of Equality Arizona, and as a political consultant for over 25 years intrinsically involved in the LGBTQ+ movement, Michael has watched the ebb and flow and now crux of policy change. After the Marriage Equality Act passed in 2015, Michael felt the pendulum swing personally as, in response, a new cultural war specifically targeting trans people has ignited across red states, with recently proposed and passed legislation causing increased polarization. As such, Michael is eager to tackle his newest endeavor—later this year, he'll be helping launch the Equality Campaign which will work with other equality groups at a national level to increase conversation, civil respect, and equality…