Kentucky lawmakers have filed a series of measures targeting the transgender community, but there's a 2020 candidate who wants to fight back.

Democrat Ramona Thomas, who began transitioning in 2017, is running for the House 28th District seat against incumbent Charles Miller in southwestern Jefferson County. She said Frankfort needs more outspoken legislators who will advocate for liberal policies and stick up for a diverse constituency.

"We need someone who is more progressive and more in tune with the way things are going now," Thomas, 35, told The Courier Journal in an interview Monday.

Republicans have spearheaded three separate measures in the 2020 legislative session that gay rights activists have decried for discriminating against transgender Kentuckians.

One measure makes it a felony for doctors to prescribe medications for anyone younger than 18 with the intent to alter their gender; another prohibits students from using public restrooms that do not align with their biological sex; and a third bill requires student-athletes to compete in sports based on the sex listed on their birth certificate.

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"These bills are the end result of LGBT people, and trans people, not being present in our government for so long," Thomas said. "A lot of what's going is because there hasn't been a gay or trans voice in the legislature."

House Bill 321, for instance, would potentially jail a doctor for providing puberty blockers to a minor. State Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, who sponsored the proposal, said on Facebook it is "not the right of a parent to permanently alter a child's gender or identity."

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, has been sounding an alarm about legislation aimed at transgender and other gender-nonconforming people in the U.S.

The group's 2019 report underscores how familial rejection and an aggressive political climate play a major role in stigmatizing trans youth and adults, often pushing them to the margins of society with higher levels of suicide and sex work.

The report criticizes so-called bathroom bills like the one being sponsored by Republican state senators, saying it seeks to restrict transgender people from accessing public spaces.

Thomas said her campaign is, in part, about fighting to protect transgender youth, who she said are often judged by neighbors and their families.

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"At the same time that they're talking about banning trans youth from getting the medical care they need, I'm campaigning on the fact we need protection for them," she said. "I have seen trans kids being abused by their parents. That's something we need to put an end to, and frankly the way things are going right now, we're going in the opposite direction."

But Thomas emphasized that her campaign won't be solely about her gender identity. She said it also will focus on a number of progressive policies that will benefit working families and address Kentucky's rankings at the bottom in education, health care and worker satisfaction.

Among the ideas Thomas supports, according to her website, include a universal free lunch program; legalizing marijuana; restoring felon voting rights; repealing "right-to-work" legislation; and lifting the minimum wage in Kentucky to $15 an hour.

The race is going to be an uphill battle for Thomas, who is a relative political newcomer. Miller is an experienced legislator and campaigner who has been in the House since Bill Clinton was president.

Although no Republican has filed for the district seat, which encompasses parts of Pleasure Ridge Park and Valley Station, it is a heavily white working-class area that is considered more conservative on social issues.

Related: Kentucky lawmaker wants doctors arrested for treating trans youth

Reach Phillip M. Bailey at pbailey@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4475. Follow him on Twitter at @phillipmbailey.