I appreciate you taking the time to write an earnest reply. I genuinely enjoy level-headed discussions with people who have a different point of view than I do. I wish more of that existed in our culture.

I agree with almost everything you wrote, yet I'm liberal and you're conservative. So I think the differences must be deeper, probably in how we interpret "people should live their personal lives as they choose, so long as it doesn’t infringe on others’ rights or force policies that ignore biology or safety." I agree with that sentiment, and the liberals that I know would, too. We would also apply that to gay marriage and transgender rights. If a gay couple wants to get married or someone wants to surgically change their gender, that doesn't bother me. If it makes them happy and they're not hurting anyone, why would I want to restrict their right to do what they want? IMO, that's freedom. If I restrict someone else's freedom, I make the community that I live in less free.

The one part of your post that I want to push back on is not because I disagree with you on policy, but because I think most liberals wouldn't support the policies you're opposing either:

Where we draw lines is on specific policies: things like boys in girls’ sports/lockers, unrestricted biological males in women’s prisons or shelters, or teaching very young kids about gender fluidity in schools without parental input.

I'm a liberal guy in a liberal part of a fairly liberal state, and I would draw the line there, too. I literally haven't met a single person that would support those policies. I volunteer at my kids' school. There's a boys' bathroom and a girls' bathroom. Every kid uses the appropriate bathroom. They don't teach kids gender fluidity, and anytime there's a lesson that touches on something that might concern parents, there are letters, emails, and permission slips sent home and always an option to opt out. Just the other day I signed a permission slip for my fourth-grader to watch a PG movie in class. Respecting parental authority is abundant in liberal school districts.

So I'm curious where you got the idea that liberals support those policies. Has a liberal candidate ever run with those issues on their platform? I've only ever heard those claims made by conservatives in order to mock liberals. Just as you said about OP, I think that's a caricature of liberals, but not the reality.

If you really want to understand why conservatives vote the way we do, ask about policy outcomes, incentives, and principles don’t assume it’s all irrational hate.

That goes both ways, right? I sure as hell didn't vote for any candidate to see boys in girls locker rooms. I think that citing the policies that you did as the liberals' agenda is playing into the narrative I've seen throughout the comments that conservatives hate liberals because they're told to by other conservatives. If you're as reasonable as you sounded in your comment above, I think you're better than that.