On Jan. 10, House Bill 24-1039 was introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives.

A month later, its author and main researcher stood before the House Education Committee to testify on why Colorado youth should be free from discrimination based on gender expression, including the choice of an individual’s chosen name.

Manitou Springs High School senior Meghan Taylor says creating a “safe and kind space for children” is one of the most important things to her. Taylor serves as the only teenager on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Suicide Prevention Commission and also serves on the Inside Out Youth Services Policy Advocacy Committee and as an executive board member of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council.

“The Suicide Prevention Commission is truly the most incredible work I have been a part of,” Taylor said. “It is a labor of love to my younger self, who wouldn’t have believed that I made it to this age.”

At age 10, Taylor began her activism with a speech she wrote about the damage done by privatizing schools and the refusal of governments to address gun violence.

Civic engagement has not come easily, as for as long as she can remember, Taylor has been highly self-conscious of her “too sweet, too intrusive, too feminine” voice. As someone passionately devoted to both theater and politics, Taylor struggled to make sense of how she would fit in.

It has taken many long years for Taylor to come to a point where she’s “unlearning the hatred” she developed for her voice.

“When I was younger … I felt like my voice wasn’t a voice that could be strong or bold, or make any smart decisions or help anyone,” Taylor said. “But now I’m pushing forward. I embrace the discomfort of my voice to speak for those with kind voices, too, who are afraid of speaking up.”

Testifying in front of the Education Committee was a nerve-wracking experience, but Taylor said “the bill wasn’t for me. Passing the bill wasn’t just another good thing to add to my resume; it’s something that will save lives.”

Taylor elucidated on this point to a committee member: “Unfortunately, sir, I cannot legislate acceptance. Believe me, if I could, the life expectancy for a transgender person would not be their mid-20s.”

Complementing Taylor’s passion for public policy is drama and theater; specifically dramaturgy, the literary and historical study of theater.

“I began journeying down a rabbit hole of how politics influences the world of the performing arts, and how performing arts influences politics and society,” Taylor said. “We begin our lives and hold our morals from those who have influenced us, and the performing arts is one of the largest sources of influence.”

Taylor, who will be attending either the University of Northern Colorado or the University of Exeter, pursuing a double major in English and acting, is “ridiculously excited” to begin her work in theater and working to influence young people to foster environments that are both safe and kind. Not only has Taylor retained at 4.18 grade-point average and stayed in the top 10 of her class, she is writing a musical for staging in 2024.

Riley Walker, Taylor’s English teacher at Manitou Springs High, describes the senior as “a superlative student, and a fine human being.”

“I saw her at a vigil for the victims of the Club Q shooting in our community,” Walker said. “All of this activism has led her to meaningfully engage with the legislative process … her extracurricular activities are not just social activities or resume-padders; they are vocations.”