Transgender Day of Visibility rallies are held amid backlash
Thousands of people rallied across the country Friday as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility in support of the rights of transgender people and their resilience amid what many denounced as an increasingly hostile environment.
Supporters converged on statehouses nationwide, at the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., and were planned as far away as Mexico City to mark a day of international unity first proclaimed more than a decade ago.
Chanting, “We're here, we're queer, get used to it!” many at the statehouse in Montpelier, Vermont, draped themselves in pride flags or carried posters with messages like “yay gay” or “protect trans kids.”
Transgender youth stood in front of the Vermont crowd and spoke movingly of the lack of support for their gender identity and sexuality.
Charlie Draughn, a 17-yearold high school senior from Chisago City, Minnesota, who attends a boarding school in Vermont, said he was angry that groups are trying to control his life and turn him into a political pawn.
“My life is not your debate,” Draughn said. “It is not a political issue. I am not hurting anyone and I am certainly not hurting myself.”
The rallies came as Republican lawmakers nationwide have pursued hundreds of proposals this year to push back on LGBTQ+ rights, particularly those of transgender residents, including banning transgender girls from girls' sports, keeping transgender people from using restrooms in line with their gender identities and requiring schools to deadname transgender students — mandating they be identified by names they were given at birth.
“We're not a new idea. We're not a new group,” said Penelope Torres, who traveled from Chicago to Washington, D.C., where more than 1,000 people marched from Union Station to the reflecting pool. “We have always been here, we've always been part of the communities and it's time to start recognizing that and to give us equal protections.”
At least 11 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota and West Virginia. Federal judges have blocked enforcement of laws in Alabama and Arkansas, and nearly two dozen states are considering bills this year to restrict or ban care.
On Friday, President Joe Biden issued a statement supporting Transgender Day of Visibility and reaffirming that transgender Americans deserve to be safe and supported in every community. He denounced what he called hundreds of hateful and extreme state laws that target transgender kids and their families.
“Let me be clear: These attacks are un-American and must end,” Biden said. “The bullying, discrimination, and political attacks that trans kids face have exacerbated our national mental health crisis.”