Very sad conversation

I’m a high school teacher in a red state and this morning had a sad conversation with 2 students. One was telling me that her best friend dropped out of school and is being home schooled now because they are trans and don’t feel safe in school anymore. The other was telling me that her and her sister are buying certain “controversial” books in case they get banned. She’s talking about handmaids tale and Fahrenheit 451 type books.

How is this our reality now?😢

EDIT: Some of you are clearly missing my point. Our country has become a place of fear and anger where kids are the ones being punished. If you don't think it's a big deal that a kid doesn't feel safe at school then you are a big part of the problem.

The same with the banned books. It's the fact that these kids, I repeat KIDS, are being affected by the policies of politicians who have zero clue what actually happens in public schools.