DURHAM — Doug Marino, 21, recalls being surprised at how fast the town of Durham adopted a transgender and gender non-conforming resolution after meeting with a group of activists from the University of New Hampshire in January.

Since Durham passed the resolution providing anti-discrimination protection for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in Durham's policies regarding employment, housing and public accommodations in February, several area towns have passed their own resolutions.

Newmarket passed a town policy in May after hearing of Durham's action, and Dover passed a school policy in February and town policy in July providing anti-discrimination protection for transgender students and employees after receiving a letter from Marino and Joelle Ruby Ryan, a senior lecturer in Women's Studies at UNH.

The Portsmouth School District passed a policy in February and in March 2014 the city became the first in the state to adopt a non-discrimination policy to protect transgender municipal employees from discrimination. The Rochester School Board's Policy Committee approved a policy allowing students to use the facilities they prefer in August and will potentially consider the measure during the regular School Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 8.

Both Marino and Ryan agree the passage of the policies shows progress for the state, which is the only one in New England to not have a state-wide policy protecting transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. They hope pressure from the towns will cause legislators to reconsider bringing forward a resolution, something that has not happened in the state since a bill allowing transgender people to use whichever bathroom corresponds to their identity was defeated in Concord in 2009.

But the recent blockage by a Texas federal judge of the Obama administration's May directive allowing the U.S. Department of Education to implement guidance requiring school districts to allow transgender students to choose which restroom and locker facilities to use shows to Marino and Ryan there is work to be done.

The 38-page ruling, issued Aug. 21 by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Conner, referred to the congressional intent behind Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which requires "facilities provided for students of one sex shall be comparable to such facilities provided for students of the other sex." O'Conner felt the term sex in that law was referring to the biological and anatomical differences between male and female students and that allowing educational institutions to provide separate housing to male and female students was meant to protect students’ personal privacy while in the presence of members of the opposite biological sex.

The ruling goes on to say the guidance was passed without input from the public and that nothing in the law prohibits other states from requiring transgender facilities on their own.

Marino said the ruling was unfortunate because access to bathroom facilities is "very important because it is an issue of safety."

"Going into the bathroom can be very dangerous and scary for transgender people, because they are often victimized in bathrooms," he said.

Ryan, who is a transgender woman, said she goes into and out of bathrooms as quickly as she can because she sometimes fears for her safety. She had heard of both transgender and cisgender, or a person who identifies with the gender assigned at birth, women avoiding public bathrooms all day for this reason. She said focusing on which bathrooms a transgender person uses is a fear-mongering tactic that preys upon people's lack of education around transgender people.

"People are afraid of us because we represent the unknown," she said. "We've lived in the shadows for quite some time, and the idea of us coming into bathrooms to assault someone is cunning, because it works on the idea that they're protecting our daughters and wives from being assaulted."

Ryan went on to say there is little discussion about protecting transmen in bathrooms, and the idea of someone who is cisgendered is unfounded as there is no record of a transgender person assaulting someone in a bathroom.

Transgender people are often the victims of assault, Ryan said. According to Rape Response Services website, approximately 50 percent of transgender people experience sexual violence in their lifetime, and one in 10 transgender individuals are sexually assaulted in a health care setting.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 21 transgender people were killed in 2015 due to violence, the highest number ever recorded. Through August this year, 17 transgender people have been killed. Ryan noted transgender people also face discrimination when it comes to health care, employment and housing, because of the lack of anti-discrimination laws across the country.

According to the Transgender Law Center, 14 states protect LGBTQ+ individuals from employment, housing, public accommodations and credit discrimination. New Hampshire has laws protecting individuals from employment, housing and public accommodation discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Marino noted protecting transgender youth is particularly important. A nationwide survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network revealed 75 percent of transgender youth feel unsafe at school, and those who persevered had significantly lower grade point averages, were more likely to miss school out of concern for their safety and were less likely to plan on continuing their education.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth are twice as likely as their peers to say they have been physically assaulted, kicked or shoved at school. A total of 92 percent of LGBT youth say they hear negative messages about being LGBT from their school, on the Internet and from their peers.

Marino feels it is important going forward to listen to transgender individuals about their experiences to understand the challenges they face and to be open to learning.

"It's difficult because I haven't experienced all the things a transgender person might have, but that was made easier by the activist community, who took me in and has been helpful in so many ways," he said. "The idea that they wouldn't be welcoming is not true — I've had people be very kind and gently take me aside when I've made a word usage mistake."

While Ryan and Marino feel there is still work to be done, they agreed increased media awareness about transgender issues and passage of anti-discrimination policies has created momentum for future progress.

"Pushing against societal stereotypes about gender is hard, but when you think about marriage equality several years ago, it seemed inconceivable that we'd be where we are today," Marino said. "It certainly will be hard as we continue on, and there's a lot of education to do done, but the progress is on our side."