CARBONDALE, Ill. (WSIL) -- Some people are nervous about visiting certain states after the Human Rights Campaign issued a stark warning for LGBTQ people on Tuesday.
For the first time in its 40-year history the HRC sent out a state of emergency for LGBTQ people, citing 75 anti-LGBTQ laws passed this year.
For local author and trans woman Heather O'Malley the announcement came as a surprise.
"It pleases me because I hope the HRC is more inclusive of trans individuals," O'Malley said.
But to O'Malley it's the risk of visiting Tennessee that poses a threat.
"My daughter and our grandkids live there. I could be arrested for going to see my grandkids. That's just crazy," O'Malley said. "Personally they make me nervous to go to Tennessee."
The 54-year old O'Malley transitioned in the early 2000s after struggling with her identity after her stint in the U.S. Army. O'Malley turned her experiences into a book called 'Transitioning Home'.
The book, according to O'Malley, tells about soldiers struggling with their own gender identities and later transitioning into women.
O'Malley and her partner came to Carbondale in November 2021, a decision they're glad they made considering the change in political landscape since.
O'Malley wants others to know that the LGBTQ community is welcome in Carbondale and that they have support.
"Remember to breathe and not just breathe but breathe in who you are. A lot of these things want you to feel shame for your identity and guilt. It is neither shameful, nor something you've done wrong, to be yourself," O'Malley said.
