The Transgender Community Will Not Be Erased
Earlier this year, I sat down with my colleagues on the Transgender Equality Task Force to hear from transgender and gender nonconforming young people and their parents about their experiences in school. During our emotional conversation, we heard stories of struggle, bullying, and bureaucratic roadblocks, but also of parents and kids who refused to give up and found accepting and loving communities in which to learn.
Unfortunately, education is only one of the areas in which transgender people face discrimination. The numbers are staggering. Ninety percent of transgender people experience workplace harassment, and more than a quarter have lost a job because of their gender identity. Employment discrimination is compounded by housing discrimination, leading to a homelessness rate twice the national average.
When such discrimination intersects with gender and race, the discrimination faced by transgender women of color is compounded, often tragically, with violence. Just last year, we lost 26 members of the transgender community to fatal violence. Among them was Shantee Tucker, a black trans woman who was murdered right here in Philadelphia.
Over one million transgender people are estimated to live in this country — and they deserve better.
Our words matter. Our actions matter. And our policies matter. Sadly, the Trump administration has adopted policies aligned with the worst instincts of humans — to marginalize, ignore, and actively harm people considered to be different. Rather than upholding human rights, this administration has given cover and encouragement to those who suggest that some of us are “less than” others, simply for living their truth. Such an attitude breeds violence and reassures those who believe that such acts of violence are justified.
This administration has actively worked to write transgender Americans out of federal law since its first days. One of the first official actions taken by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in 2017 was to revoke a crucial guidance that clarified nondiscrimination protections for transgender students, throwing into doubt the ability of these students to attend safe and inclusive schools. This administration has removed transgender demographic questions from federal surveys, rolled back health care nondiscrimination protections, and even deleted references to the transgender community from federal websites. This administration is on a mission to erase the very identity of transgender people.
In pursuit of this warped mission, the Trump administration has even attacked brave patriots who want to serve their country in uniform. Transgender service members served openly and honorably in our military, with no damage to unit cohesion or readiness, for years before President Trump took office. While the courts put a quick stop to President Trump’s tweeted attempt to ban transgender people from service, the administration recently redoubled its efforts to disqualify transgender people from military service.
We will not allow our transgender troops to be forced into the shadows in a country they’ve sacrificed to defend. Transgender service members deserve our heartfelt gratitude, not to have their service and contributions to our national security degraded by their Commander-in-Chief. This week, the House of Representatives sternly rebuked the President’s trans ban with a bipartisan vote disapproving of the ban.
No one serving this country should have to second-guess our commitment to them due to their sexual orientation or gender identification.
No child should have to grow up in fear for simply being who they are.
Today is Transgender Visibility Day, and I want to send a clear message to the transgender community in my district and across the country.
You are not in this fight alone. We see you. We hear you. And we will never stop fighting for the full legal and social equality of the transgender community.