When Mia Lozado booked her first appointment for gender-affirming hormone therapy, she thought her grandmother would kick her out.

Lozado told her she was prepared to pack up her clothes and sleep in the park, but as the words fell from her mouth, Lozado said her grandmother looked at her and said, “You don’t have to do that. I’m here for you.”

“That day she saw me,” Lozado said.

With her mother smiling in the audience, Lozado shared her story with a crowd of elected officials, LGBTQ+ activists and community allies who gathered in Hartford Thursday to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility and see the trans pride flag fly over the State Capitol for the second time in Connecticut’s history.

The flag made its barrier-breaking debut above the Capitol last year in a historic ceremony that affirmed Connecticut’s commitment to trans rights and underscored the resilience of the trans community in the face of legislative attacks and disproportionate violence across the country.

This year advocates carried on that message with an emphasis on empowering trans youth and celebrating trans joy.

“We are so proud of this beautiful, vibrant community,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said. “Some people think that flag raisings are not important, and I would respectfully and strongly disagree.”

“This is an important symbol for our state. It says that our state supports the trans community (and) supports our LGBTQ+ community at a time when so many of our rights and so many in our community are under attack in the state and in our country,” Bysiewicz added. “By raising this flag, the governor and I want everyone in our state to know: We see you, we respect you, and we will keep fighting for you.”

June Carpenter, a junior at CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts High School, said that she finds joy in knowing that LGBTQ+ advocates in Connecticut “are not done making this world better.”

Carpenter said that she’s lucky to learn in an affirming school climate, grow up in a loving and supportive home, and live in a state like Connecticut.

“This wouldn’t be possible without the progress, the positive changes in politics, laws and attitudes towards our rights created by many of my adult peers and allies here today,” Carpenter said. “This year, several bills that aim to protect our community have been proposed. I’ve seen legislators not only speak on our behalf but also act in ways that signal that we are heard.”

Theo Keitt, the son of State Rep. Sarah Keitt, spoke about the importance of creating a culture of love to protect trans youth across the nation.

A senior at Fairfield Warde High School, Keitt said anti-trans policy, attitudes and violence in other states played into his decision to attend college in New York City this fall.

As Keitt was looking at art schools, he said people kept encouraging him to apply to the Savannah College of Art and Design.

“There was always a little voice in the back of my head saying, ‘I can’t live in Savannah. I can’t live in Georgia,’” Keitt said. “I’m sure there are a lot of you in this room who went through the exact same thought process when choosing your schools, your places of work, and your places of residence.”

Keitt said that despite Connecticut’s inclusive policies, the rest of America “is not safe for queer youth.”

“Today’s flag raising will not save the gay 14-year-old in Alabama who’s terrified of being outed at school. It will not save the trans 17-year-old in Oklahoma whose estrogen has just been made illegal, but it can show them that they are not alone,” Keitt said.

As Connecticut embraces more trans refugees from hostile states, Karleigh Chardonnay Webb, an activist, journalist and Trans Lifeline operator, said state leaders must not rest on their achievements but expand on them.

“There are families coming to this state, my state, our state who are struggling. They’re fleeing anti-trans laws where they came from and they’re coming here seeking refuge and relief. Let’s pull together for them. Let’s keep pushing Connecticut forward and let’s send a clear message to those who seek to bring anti-trans bigotry here to Connecticut,” Webb said.

Watching as the trans pride flag waved above the Capitol’s gold dome, Christine Rebstock, executive director of media and communications for LGBTS United, said that she does not believe in Trans Day of Visibility.

Rebstock said that the LGBTS United, which aligns with parental rights organizations and has lobbied against gender-affirming care for minors and diversity, equity, and inclusion curricula, opposes the display of any non-government flag on government property.

Earlier this session, Rebstock joined the Connecticut Family Institute, Republican lawmakers, and others to push a proposal that would require schools to out trans and gender nonconforming students to their parents and prohibit transgender athletes from competing in sports that align with their gender identity.

During a speech before the flag raising, State Treasurer Erick Russell spoke against similar attempts to limit LGBTQ+ rights within schools, the workplace and government spaces.

“It is infuriating that some of these basic elements of human decency are being challenged across the country, but also right here in Connecticut,” Russell said.

“Very bizarrely, we have adults who are so fixated on attacking children in our schools and in our communities,” Russell added.

While Russell said he is “hopeful that those adults will at some point, step up and realize their wrongs and will come to the table” he said that state leaders must work every day to protect their constituents.

“What we need to make very clear is that trans and nonbinary people are here and they are going to be heard, and they will not be diminished or silenced or erased in our state,” Russell said. “Trans people and all people need to know that their government will protect their rights and freedoms without exception.”