‘This Community Is Under Relentless Attack’: White House Joins Weekend of Support for Transgender Americans
Activists rally nationwide to protect trans rights
The White House joined in this weekend for an outpouring of support for transgender Americans, as this year's annual Transgender Day of Visibility coincided with a flood of hate visited upon the trans community in the aftermath of last week's school shooting in Nashville.
The political right amped its already-overwhelming venom for the transgender community after authorities in Nashville, Tenn., said that the shooter who murdered six people at a private Christian elementary school last Monday identified as transgender.
That river of hate arrived as the trans community worldwide was preparing to celebrate and observe its annual International Transgender Day of Visibility, an annual event occurring on March 31 dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, as well as a celebration of their contributions to society.
Activists also came out in Florida, Texas and elsewhere to protest the growing movement among Republican political leaders to enact increasingly sweeping laws aimed at limited and restricting the rights of trans Americans.
“Today is Transgender Day of Visibility. It’s a day where we celebrate the joy, strength, and courage of transgender Americans and their families and loved ones who support them,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press gaggle Friday aboard Air Force One, en route to President Biden's trip to visit tornado-ravaged Mississippi. “As President Biden has said, these are Americans who serve in our military and help keep our nation safe and free. And they are Americans who strengthen our communities and make them better. But, unfortunately, as you all know well, this community is under relentless attacks from Republicans across the country.
“Rather than uplifting or supporting everyone in our communities and focusing on issues that matter to the American people, they want to target transgender Americans and take away their freedoms,” Jean-Pierre added.
A drag queen performed at the Minnesota Capitol, in St Paul, for Transgender Day of Visibility. Lawmakers in Tennessee and elsewhere also have begun cracking down on drag queens and drag shows.
Activists rallied at Florida's capitol, chanting “Whose Schools? Our Schools!” where Republicans led by Gov Ron DeSantis have been passing a number of restrictive laws, including the”Don't Say Gay” law prohibiting discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in state schools.
Activists in Texas protested at their state capitol in Austin, chanting, “Protect trans kids.”
And yet another group of activists rallied outside to express their expectations for trans youth in schools across the United States.
“I had the fortune of meeting hundreds of incredible leaders from around the country, and many of them directly helped us develop our list of demands. I will now read those demands to you, and this is an eternally incomplete list of the necessary actions for all people to take, including legislators, parents, teachers, coaches, colleagues, and everyone,” one young speaker said. “We called our school faculty and staff to undergo mandated LGBTQ plus specific diversity, equity, and inclusion training. Schools should create and follow a clear plan for trans-students to use chosen names in place of legal names unless specifically instructed otherwise by the student. Funding for at least one clearly designated and functioning gender-neutral bathroom at all times and transition to single stall and mobilized all gender-neutral bathrooms.
“Teach LGBTQ+, [Black, Indigenous, and people of color], and disabled history as part of existing history classes and make sure everything that was history, lives on, and African American history electives are accessible for students who want to learn about these communities,” the speaker added.
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