Thread by @NBCNews

Young activists like 16-year-old Eli Bundy have been testifying at hearings for some of the 70 state bills targeting transgender people across the U.S. #NBCNewsThreads (1/10) nbcnews.to/3rt2aJo

Bundy, a young nonbinary activist has been actively involved in challenging anti-LGBTQ legislation in South Carolina, even missing class to testify against a bill that would ban transgender athletes from competing in school sports. (2/10)

“They didn't want to hear from us,” Bundy says about the lawmakers supporting the bill. “I think that's part of the reason why they weren't more accommodating — they didn’t want to sit through that.” (3/10)

At least 20 states are currently considering bills that would ban transgender students from competing in school sports or limit their access to medical care. (4/10)

Elliot Vogue, a 17-year-old activist who lives in Hartford, South Dakota, said he thinks young activists are stepping up because “we're being silenced by our own state government and it feels powerless.” (5/10) nbcnews.to/3rt2aJo

In January, Vogue testified against a measure to require birth certificates to reflect assigned sex at birth, because he is in the process of trying to change his gender marker. (6/10)

“When these bills come up and trans people are saying, ‘Hey, this isn’t OK, this isn’t going to help us, this isn’t going to help anybody else, why are you doing this?’ And then they ignore us and continue to make these bills again, it's really frustrating,” Vogue said. (7/10)

Lindsay Hecox, a 20-year-old sophomore at Boise State University, has been involved in a legal battle fighting against a trans athletes law in Idaho for nearly a year.

“I'm in this for the long run,” she said. (8/10)

Though it can be emotionally challenging, the activists say they can’t afford to not stay engaged. (9/10)

“I feel like I can't afford to not pay attention, because it's my life and the life of my friends on the line, and that feels like much too high of a cost not to be paying attention to, even though it definitely can be very painful,” Bundy said. (10/10) nbcnews.to/3rt2aJo