Must Watch: TV Ad on Transgender People and Bathrooms Debuts at RNC

In Texas and across the country, the fight for LGBTQ equality continues.

A powerful new ad raising awareness about transgender people and Republican policies aimed at discriminating against them will air during the Republican National Convention this week.

The ad was created by Fairness USA, a coalition of LGBTQ rights groups from around the country. It shows how transphobic policies like so-called “bathroom bills” put the safety and well-being of transgender Americans at risk:

Here in Texas, it is totally legal for transgender people to be fired, denied housing, or otherwise  turned away just because of who they are. According to a survey conducted in 2012, most trans Texans have experienced some form of discrimination or harassment in employment, education, and healthcare access.

Raising awareness about the lives of transgender people is a crucial part of gathering public support for legal protections against discrimination.

The ad will debut on FOX News on July 21, and will air on MSNBC a week later during the Democratic National Convention. To accompany this ad campaign, the Equality Texas Foundation has also released an extended version of a TV ad featuring a transgender man in Houston: