Chess has been a cornerstone of Sam’s life.
Sam (which is a pseudonym as requested to protect their identity) competed at the National High School Chess Championship last year.
“It was great,” Sam said. “We [the team] felt good going in and we ended up doing pretty well in it. We were confident and we really enjoyed the trip.”
But when the National High School Chess Championship for 2025 was moved to Florida, Sam hit a chess puzzle they just couldn’t solve.
Florida House Bill sb254 grants courts the “temporary emergency jurisdiction over a child present in this state if the child has been subjected to or is threatened with being subjected to sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures”. Sam realized that this bill could pose a risk to their safety.
Sam spoke with lawyers to confirm the grim reality.
“I consulted with a parent’s lawyer and emailed a few legal experts on transgender youth,” Sam said. “All of them said it’s a risk that I shouldn’t take. I am still extremely angry about this, it’s very frustrating.”
Originally, Sam was not too concerned about the bill.
“In 2023, when it first passed, I was outraged but did not think much,” Sam said. “So when I heard about the chess tournament being in Orlando, I said ‘Hold up, let me double check and make sure that I’m allowed to go here’.”
Sam hopes that people will recognize how this trickling change can affect all people.
“More than the chess community — there’s this one quote that I like to live my life by: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” Sam said. “We’re supposed to be a land where people can be who they are, and preventing people from being who they are is just what this bill is doing.”
Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is surging across the country. The executive orders issued by the Trump administration include those to exclusively define women and men by biological sexes, ban public educational institutions from recognizing transgender people, and banning transgender people from entering the military.
Yuan Wang, an executive producer for Lavender Phoenix, a trans-queer organization for Asian and Pacific Islander people, says that such oppression is not new.
“Even before this [presidential] administration, we saw over 1,000 Anti-LGBTQ+ laws being proposed across the 50 states, and many of those were specifically anti-trans bills that were seeking to limit access to healthcare,” Wang said. “This is, from research and lived experience, lifesaving, gender affirming care.”
According to a report from the Trans Legislation Tracker, 42 anti-trans bills have passed so far in 2025. Currently, there are 821 bills under consideration across the United States that would impact the transgender community.
Sam feels the impact of increasing restrictions on their identity.
“Currently, I’m avoiding most southern red states, as I am truly afraid,” Sam said. “I just don’t wanna risk it. It’s narrowing down where I look for colleges and it’s narrowing down where I feel safe and where I can travel to.”
In response to movements to suppress trans identity, organizations are providing increased support. Lavender Phoenix is one of these organizations.
“Our healing justice members are leading … a free peer counseling program service for transgender API people,” Wang says, “We’ve also been leading community safety and defense workshops for the last few years to help trans folks build the skills to keep each other safe.”
Wang hopes that everyone together can build a space for trans people.
“I would say that my hope for trans young people everywhere though, is to find places where they can be fully themselves,” Wang said, “Where they can express themselves and find care and love and security reflected back to them.”