PERRY, Ga. — Almost four years ago, Anna Lange, a trans woman and Houston County Sheriff’s Office deputy filed a federal lawsuit against her employer. Lange alleges after having a conversation with her boss about her intentions to transition she was denied medical coverage for a gender-confirming surgery and was discriminated against.
Anna Lange has waited years on a ruling in her discrimination case against the Houston County Sheriff’s Office and the county. Now that a judge ruled in her favor, she says it’s a relief.
"The health care I was seeking is medically necessary, and my life without it it’s just been placed on hold," Lange said.
Now, Anna Lange says the life she intends to live as a trans woman can unfold.
In 2018 Lange sued her employer, the Houston County Sheriff's Office, for discrimination.
That happened after they refused to pay for a gender-confirming surgery.
This month, a federal judge agreed that the county discriminated against her.
"I think it’s a shame that Houston County leaders have spent close to a million dollars fighting this for the only trans person here," she explained.
Lange worked with sheriff's office for 16 years and still works as an investigator there.
She says the lawsuit hasn’t affected her ability to do her job.
"You know, the coworkers that I work around every day, they know who I am, they know the job that I do. It hasn't been a distraction. Our main job is still for the residents of Houston County," she said.
Post-ruling, Lange says she could see herself advocating for others in the same position and their rights.
"Now that I've been through it and felt it, I know it certainly it takes everybody to stand up when they see something that isn’t right where people are being treated a certain way and just say, 'You know, enough,'" she said.
Lange said she has no plans to leave the sheriff’s office.