Hey fam, it's me, Amara.

Welcome to the TransLash podcast, a show where we tell trans stories to save trans lives.

Well, there's so much tough news for our community that's coming from all quarters of various levels of government these days. And so it's really easy to forget that there are trans people in government who are fighting every day to stop the worst from happening and to actually make things better.

That's why I'm so excited to talk today with my guest, Minnesota State Representative Lee Finke, who is one of them.

She actually made history as being one of two trans people elected to the Minnesota State House of Representatives in the same year.

Now, as she tells us, Minnesota is the trans capital of the U.S., meaning that it's the state that has the highest percentage of trans adults.

And Finkie and her colleagues have been able to pass some of the most

progressive legislation on trans issues in the country despite everything that's happening.

But not surprisingly, it hasn't been easy.

While in office, she's had to contend with the disastrous occupation of Minneapolis by ICE,

as well as threats to her own personal safety,

made all the more real by the fact that her friend, former Minnesota House Speaker, Melissa

Hortman, and her husband were murdered in their home. So in this vulnerable conversation,

Lee shares what it's like to fight for her constituents and to be trans in an increasingly hostile political environment where she's a part of the machinery of what happens.

I love my job. I love being here. I want to do my job. Making policy is incredible. It's an incredible experience to pass policy.

But there's nowhere I feel less safe than at the Minnesota Capitol. Before we get into it, let's start out as always

with some trans joy. Trina Tate is a non-binary queer, trans person of color from Milwaukee, who currently lives in Philadelphia. They find joy everywhere

in music, the blanket of cherry blossoms on their street, and walking for hours. Trina is an educator

working in curriculum development for an organization that teaches mindfulness and other social

emotional skills to public school students. here they are to tell us more.

My first job in this role was actually as a teacher, so I would go to these public schools

and what it looked like was me going into those classrooms, having fun, dancing with the kids,

...