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WEBVTT KRISTEN: LIA HAGERTY LIVES INDURHAM WITH HER TWO SISTERS.SHE IS 12 YEARS OLD, GOES TOMIDDLE SCHOOL, AND IS ENJOYINGHER LIFE.BUT SHE IS GOING THROUGHSOMETHING HER PEERS WOULD NEVEREXPERIENCE.LIA: I WAS WANTED TO GO WITH THEGIRLS, DO GIRL STUFF, PLAY WITHMY SISTER'S BARBIES AND WEAR HERCLOTHING.KRISTEN: LIA IS TRANSGENDER ANDJUST STARTED HORMONE TREATMENT.LIA: I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WOULDBE A GIRL.I COULD NOT BEAR LIVING AS ABOY, AND IT WAS HORRIBLE FOR ME.KRISTEN: SHE ADMITS MAKING THETRANSITION HAS NOT BEEN EASY.LIA: THERE OR THOSE PEOPLE THATARE LIKE -- YOU CANNOT BE A GIRLBECAUSE YOU WERE NOT BORN AGIRL.YOU HAVE THE PARTS OF A BOY, SOTHAT MAKES YOU A BOY.KRISTEN: BUT SHE HAS BEEN ABLETO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE HELP OFHER PARENTS.THEY SAY SHE HAS SHOWN FEMALETENDENCIES SINCE THE AGE OF TWO.>> EVER SINCE, WE HAVE JUST SORTOF BEEN TAKING CUES FROM HER,AND IT HAS BEEN CONSISTENT.SHE HAS BEEN PERSISTENT IN BEINGA GIRL.>> WHEN SHE WAS ABLE TO STARTVERBALIZING THAT SHE WASUNCOMFORTABLE IS WHEN, AS A MOM,I KNEW I HAD TO BE MORE INVOLVEDWITH HELPING HER.KRISTEN: THAT HELPED STARTED INKINDERGARTEN.>> WHEN WE WERE EMBRACED ANDSUPPORTED BY OUR COMMUNITY,FAMILY, AND FRIENDS, IT WASSURPRISINGLY, LIKE, MIND OPENINGAND BEAUTIFUL.KRISTEN: LIA IS FREE TO USE THEGIRLS' BATHROOM AT SCHOOL AND ISALLOWED TO PLAY ON THE GIRLS'SOCCER INVESTABLE TEAMS.WHILE HER PARENTS ARE ENCOURAGEDBY THEIR COMMUNITY'S SUPPORT,THEY DO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT HOWSHE WILL BE ACCEPTED IN THEFUTURE.IN A FEW YEARS, SHE WILL BEGINTAKING ESTROGEN, AND WHEN SHE IS16, SHE CAN HAVE SURGERY.>> UNFORTUNATELY, RIGHT NOW, THESTATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DOES NOTHAVE A NONDISCRIMINATION CLAUSEFOR TRANSGENDER PEOPLE.LEGALLY, TRANSGENDER PEOPLE CANDISCRIMINATED AGAINST.KRISTEN: EARLIER THIS YEAR,STATE LAWMAKERS TOOK UP HOUSEBILL 478.IT WOULD HAVE BANNED THISDISCRIMINATION BASED ON GENDERIDENTITY.LIA SPURRED SUPPORT OF THELEGISLATION.LIA: I HAVE GOT A LOT OF LOVEFOR THAT.PEOPLE ARE SUPPORTIVE.I HAVE A LOT OF COURAGE NOW.I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A LOT OFPOWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD.KRISTEN: BUT THE HOUSE VOTED TOTABLE THE BILL.>> OVER 50% OF TRANSGENDERPEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED THISDISCRIMINATION IN PUBLICSETTINGS, SO THERE IS A REALDISCONNECT.I HOPE THAT IS RESOLVED FOR BOTHLIA AND ALL TRANSGENDER PEOPLE.KRISTEN: SOMETHING LIA IS HOPINGFOR ALSO KNOWING NO MATTER WHAT,THE PEOPLE AROUND HER WILLALWAYS SUPPORT HER.LIA: MY PARENTS HAVE SHOWN THATTHEY LOVE ME, AND IT IS JUST

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Twelve-year-old Lia Hegarty lives in Durham with her two sisters, goes to middle school and said she's enjoying her life. But she's going through something that most of her peers will never experience.>> Download the FREE WMUR app Lia said that as long as she can remember, she has felt like a girl, even though her birth certificate identifies her as a boy. "I never thought I would live my life as a boy," she said. "I always thought I was a girl and that I would always be a girl. I could not bear living as a boy. It was just horrible for me." She said she was never interested in typical "boy things." "I would always want to play with the girls, do girl stuff, play with my sister's Barbies and wear her clothes," she said. "I used to come home and wear dresses." Lia is transgender and has just started taking a hormone blocker to avoid male puberty. She admitted that making the transition has not been easy. "There are those people that are like, 'You can't be a girl because you were not born a girl. You have the parts of a boy, so that makes you a boy,'" Lia said. But she has been able to move forward with the help of her parents. Boyd and Christy Hegarty said that she has shown female tendencies since she was 2 years old. "Ever since, we've just been taking cues from her," her father said. "It has been consistent. She has been persistent in being a girl." "When she was able to really start verbalizing that she was uncomfortable is when, as a mom, I knew I had to be more involved with helping her," her mother said. That help started in kindergarten. "When we were embraced and supported by our community and our family and our friends, it was surprisingly mind-opening and beautiful," Christy Hegarty said. Lia is free to use the girls bathroom at school and is allowed to play on the girls soccer and basketball teams. While her parents are encouraged by their community's support, they said they have concerns about how she'll be accepted in the future. She'll begin taking estrogen in a few years, and when she is 16, she will be able to have surgery. "Unfortunately, right now, the state of New Hampshire does not have a nondiscrimination clause for transgender people, so legally, transgender people can be discriminated against," Boyd Hegarty said. Earlier this year, state lawmakers took up House Bill 478. It would have banned discrimination based on gender identity. Lia spoke in support of the legislation. "I've gotten a lot of love for that. People are very supportive," she said. "I have a lot more courage know. I feel like I have a lot more power in the world to change the world, and it gave me a lot of courage." The House voted to table the bill. "Over 50 percent of transgender people have experienced discrimination in public settings, so there is a real disconnect there, and I hope that is solved for Lia and all transgender people in New Hampshire," her father said. Lia said she hopes for more widespread understanding, while she also knows that her parents will always support her. "My parents have definitely shown that they love me, and it's just amazing how accepting and loving they are," she said.