Amanda Betzing has lived in Kentucky since around 2000 – and in that time, she’s faced discrimination again and again because she is gay. “People look at me, and they’re like, ‘Oh, this is a female, but she has short hair and she dresses like a guy,'” Amanda said. “They really judge you, and they’re like, ‘Well, I don’t want this particular person living in my home.’ I haven’t gotten other jobs because of the way I look. I have had a hard time with being gay. I served six years in the military, so being female in a man’s world – then you add being gay.”

It’s partly why she hopes Kentucky lawmakers take action to end anti-LGBTQ discrimination and advance nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people across the state. “I think it would support our community a whole lot if we’re backed by the state,” she said. I live this every day, so I know first-hand how we are treated. We are judged and looked at like we have a disease. This all needs to stop. We are equal and all human. We all came from the same source.”