Leelah Alcorn, born Joshua Alcorn, was a transgender teen who committed suicide because her family would not accept her choice and forced her into Christian conversion therapy. Her death became well known because of the reason behind it which she wrote in her suicide note on tumblr.

She said “[her] death needs to mean something,” and that we need to “fix society” for this mistreatment of those who are transgender by their parents and those around them.

Her death hit home to many students across the country, including students at McNeil.

“I was upset to lose such a beautiful girl, but her death shouldn’t go down in vain,” freshman Skyler Smith said.

After Alcorn’s death, her parents still referred to her as Joshua and their son. This angered numerous people, including sophomore Veronica Smith.

“I think it’s really messed up, honestly,” Veronica Smith said. “It’s like they’re ignoring the fact that their daughter killed herself because they refused to accept her gender identity. It’s extremely disrespectful and messed up. It’s appalling to see that her parents still refuse to open their eyes.”

What makes her death tragic is the other transgender teens who committed suicide with the same hopes as hers, wanting their life and their death to mean something, to bring change in the world. But the sad truth is not many people see this as an issue.

“Honestly, most people in this world don’t care that someone they don’t know died,” Skyler Smith said. “I wish it would change, maybe so that transgender people aren’t cast out and families would understand the pain they’re putting us through.”

Many hope to see an end in transphobia. Skyler Smith believes people need to be more open minded about the fact that people are not the gender they are born with.

“I think people have to stop standing by and allowing it to happen.” Veronica Smith said. “There is no such thing as an innocent bystander – by watching something terrible happen and not doing anything about it, you’re just as bad as the person committing the act. By allowing transgender people to be bullied, ridiculed, killed, etc. and not saying anything about it, you’re telling the people who do these things to transgender people that it’s okay.”

There is currently a petition to ban the conversion therapy Alcorn had to go through, called the “Leelah’s Law”. She is already on her way to making a change in society like she hoped.

“Nobody should have to go to ‘conversion therapy’ and be put through what she was put through,” Skyler Smith said in hopes the “Leelah’s Law” can help people.

Alcorn’s death was hard to deal with for more than the fact that the world lost a beautiful young girl but others see similarities in her story as their own.

“It hurts to be at home,” Skyler Smith said. “I am not even allowed to bring it up.”

Luckily for Skyler, people at school accept him for who he is.

If you wish to sign the petition visit this website: https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-enact-leelah-s-law-to-ban-transgender-conversion-therapy