Opinions
Trans community demands lawmakers end onslaught of attacks
Black and Brown trans people should be able to live without fear of transphobic violence and discrimination
By Bria Nelson | Lawrence, KS. ā I enjoy living in Kansas. Specifically, Lawrence, Kansas, where I can attend a watercolor painting class at the local plant shop on Wednesday, the weekly drag show on Thursday, and a vintage clothing pop-up on Friday. But despite the beauty of the rolling Flint Hills, there is something ugly happening in the place I call home. Growing hostility towards the transgender and non-binary community is being codified through policies and perpetuated through violence that threatens our basic human rights.
Rights activists see such rollbacks of hard-fought progress spreading across the US, and weāre bracing for new attacks that will test the countryās purported commitment to equality. The fight is the most grueling for those of us who are from Black and other marginalized communities.
In the last year, violence claimed the lives of at least 25 transgender and gender non-conforming people in the US, with violence disproportionately affecting Black transgender women. These numbers are most likely underrepresented, as attacks against the LGBTQ+ community often go undocumented.
Black and Brown trans people should be able to live as their most authentic self without fear of transphobic violence and discrimination.
To add to the growing animus, some states chose to attack transgender rights through legislation rather than protect them. This past June, the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, declared a state of emergency after more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in 41 states. Hundreds of these bills specifically targeted transgender people.
Some of these anti-LGBTQ+ bills would limit the ability to update gender information on identity documents like driverās licenses and birth certificates, weaken nondiscrimination laws and protections in employment, and restrict free speech and expression through book and drag performance bans. State bills also attempt to restrict access to medically necessary health care including bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth, prohibit access to public accommodations like public bathrooms, and prevent trans students from participating in school activities like sports. While introducing a bill doesnāt mean it will pass, 84 of these draconian measures made it out of committee and have been signed into law.
Even the introduction of these bills perpetuates harmful stigmas and allows misinformation to spread. I have witnessed how harmful the introduction of these bills has been on members of the trans community I am a part of. In Kansas, 14 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced and four were passed into law in the last legislative session. During that time, my trans friends and peers pleaded with conservative lawmakers to respect their dignity and protect their autonomy over their own bodies. Medical experts testified that the mere act of introducing these bills causes great harm to the mental health of transgender people across the state.
One bill, misnamed the Womenās Bill of Rights though it limits protections for transgender women, passed and went into effect on July 1st. In response, LGBTQ+ activists in Lawrence refused to rest until the City Commission enacted a sanctuary city ordinance, increasing protections for trans people. Despite the immense fear transgender people were feeling in this moment, their message rang loud and clear: LGBTQ+ people have the right to live without fear, and we are not going anywhere.
Make no mistake, allowing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation to be passed sends a message that legitimizes homophobic and transphobic sentiment.
There are some hopeful signs. Legislation to outlaw the LGBTQ+ panic defense was introduced in nine states as well as in the US House and Senate this year. Under that defense, people charged with violent crime against LGBTQ+ people can get a reduced sentence or evade criminal liability by stating that the victimās real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity prompted the violent act.
As violence against the LGBTQ+ community continues to increase, it is important now more than ever for lawmakers in statehouses across the country and for the federal government to strengthen protections for trans people and especially for the most vulnerable members of this communityāBlack and Brown trans women. Lawmakers should be recognizing and protecting LGBTQ+ peopleās equal dignity under the law. Legislators should support active efforts to quell discrimination, like Kansasās HB 2178, and codify LGBTQ+ protections. The US Government should also meet its human rights obligations to respond to foreseeable threats to life and bodily integrity, and to address patterns of violence targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
While activists continue to fight for LGBTQ+ liberation, I am reminded to celebrate the small wins. I remain hopeful when I see young LGBTQ+ people organizing and exercising their right to protest in the name of egalitarianism. They remind me that pride is not something solely limited to the month of June, but a badge of honor we always carry with us.
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Bria Nelson is a Researcher and Advocate on Racial Justice and Equity Issues with the Human Rights Watch U.S. Program. Bria is an attorney and concentrates their research on racial justice and equity issues across the U.S., with a particular focus on reparations for enslavement and its legacies.
As a movement lawyer, Bria has also worked to mobilize response and advocacy after the public murder of George Floyd, including undergoing an intensive fellowship training program with Law for Black Lives, an organization focused on grounding movements in Black queer feminism, abolition, and anticapitalism.
Democrats should take a moment before they go after each other and try to assign blame for the loss. There is plenty of time to do that. From Nancy Pelosi, to Bernie Sanders, each has already voiced their thoughts on who they think is to blame, but itās too soon for that.
Democrats should remember Joe Biden is president for more than two more months, and we should be working to make him as strong as possible. There is much he can do in that time, including getting out the budgeted money for environmental issues. Then letās focus on what the Senate can do, while it is still in the hands of Democrats. Among other things they should confirm a lot of new judges. We know if Republicans were in this situation they would do that. Then on Jan. 21, we can begin the work of rebuilding the Democratic Party where it needs rebuilding, and start the work toward electing Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. The work needed now is being done by those like Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who is calling a special session of the legislature to deal with the expected Trump policies that could impact the state. Other Democratic governors, with Democratic legislatures, are doing the same. That is what has to be done now.
Then the Democratic Party has to finally rid itself of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) who has the nerve to attack the party that allowed him to run in its primaries even though he is not a Democrat. The party gave him all their lists and he has used them to raise money, sell his books, and earn enough to buy his third home. He has never really accomplished much in all his years in Congress. I am sick of listening to him attack the party.
I may not like it, but understand why journalists, and opinion writers, and all the useless commentators on cable TV, like Van Jones, who get paid to be there, all want to make a headline for themselves. The pontificators will all say dumb things, and try to outdo the person sitting next to them. Itās what they get paid to do. So, as is my choice, I have stopped watching any cable TV. But when Democratic politicians do the same thing, I am much less accepting. The election is over, and you donāt need to do it now. You donāt need to attack other Democrats just to try to get your own headline. Hold off a little, take a breath, and letās all look at the results when we have them all. As I write this, we donāt even know who will win the House of Representatives. Instead of attacking your own party, attack Trump and the Republicans who are proposing things that will hurt your constituents. There is plenty to attack them on already.
It is pretty clear Trump will not get everything he campaigned on done. He wonāt solve the worldās problems in 24 hours. So, letās develop some ways to attack his tax plan, and letās keep warning people who voted for him how he will end up hurting them. Letās talk about tariffs and how bad they can be for the average American. Because we lost this campaign, it doesnāt mean the things we fought for were wrong. Giving new parents $6,000, or helping start-up businesses with more loans and tax cuts, are things still worth fighting for. We know we have to develop new messaging, and that is what we can work on now and try it out. Democrats can do that without attacking each other.
Instead letās celebrate those who won. The senators who held on to their seats, like Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.). Then all the LGBTQ members of Congress who were reelected. New members of Congress like Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) and the first transgender woman elected, Sarah McBride (D-Del.). Then the two African-American women elected to the Senate, Lisa Blunt-Rochester (D-Del.), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.). We really do have some things to celebrate.
Once again, itās time to stop the circular firing squad, and take that breath. There are groups planning a March on Washington and those of us who are fighters, will be there. We will be there to fight for Democrats in the 2026 mid-term elections. We will be there to join hands again. But there is some time, take a breath and manage to hold your tongue for just a little bit, before going on the attack against your own.
Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.
Opinions
Activists around the world offer potential path forward for American counterparts
Trumpās re-election will not stop fight for LGBTQ rights
Donald Trump early on Nov. 9, 2016, declared victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. My husband and I arrived in Jerusalem less than 48 hours later.
A Wider Bridge, a group that “advocates for justice, counters LGBTQphobia, and fights anti-Semitism, and other forms of hatred,” months earlier had invited us to participate in one of their missions to Israel. It was my first time in the country.
Our first meeting was at the Shalom Hartman Institute, which describes itself as a “leading center of Jewish thought and education” that seeks “to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism; to enhance the Jewish and democratic character of Israel; and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling for good in the 21st century.”
The staffer who greeted us welcomed us to Israel. He then pointed out that Benjamin Netanyahu had been prime minister for nearly a decade.
“Now you will know what it will feel like,” he said.
His comment was cold comfort to many of us who were still reeling over Trump’s victory. It is also one that has repeatedly come to mind as I continue to process the results of the presidential election and what a second Trump presidency will mean for this country, for me as a gay man, for the community that I cover, and especially for transgender Americans and immigrants who the first Trump administration disproportionately targeted.
The U.S. is certainly not the only country in which voters in recent years have elected authoritarian figures who pose a threat to LGBTQ rights.
Viktor OrbĆ”n has been Hungary’s prime minister since 2010. Javier Milei has been Argentina’s president since December 2023. Jair Bolsonaro was Brazil’s president from 2019-2023.
Netanyahu was Israel’s prime minister from 1996-1999 and from 2009-2021. He became the country’s prime minister for a third time on Dec. 29, 2022.
Hungary, among other things, has enacted a so-called propaganda law and effectively banned same-sex couples from adopting children since OrbĆ”n took office. Milei’s government in August closed Argentina’s National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism. Bolsonaro, among other things, encouraged fathers to beat their sons if they came out as gay and said people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are at increased risk for AIDS.
Activists who protested against Netanyahu’s proposed judicial system reforms say they would have adversely impacted LGBTQ Israelis. The prime minister postponed these efforts in March 2023 after a nationwide strike paralyzed the country. Israeli lawmakers a few months later approved them after opposition lawmakers stormed out of the Knesset in protest.
Israel, Brazil, Argentina, and Hungary are four of the dozens of countries around the world in which LGBTQ rights have been under attack ā and the U.S. will certainly remain on this list once Trump takes office again on Jan. 20. It is certainly a frightening prospect for many in our community, but the activists in the aforementioned countries have not given up, and their American counterparts should not either.
“I’m not saying it’s not easy, but the direction is so clear,” AndrĆ”s LĆ©derer, the head of advocacy for the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, told me in April during an interview at a Budapest coffee shop. “They (the Hungarian government) can try to introduce setbacks. They can make life miserable, temporarily, but, you know, you just can’t go against the entire world in that sense.”
Hamas militants on Oct. 8, 2023, killed Israel Defense Forces Maj. Sagi Golan in Beāeri, a kibbutz that is near the Israel-Gaza border. His fiancĆ©, Omer Ohana, with the support of Israeli advocacy groups, successfully lobbied Israeli lawmakers to amend the country’s Bereaved Families Law to recognize LGBTQ widows and widowers of fallen servicemembers.
“It was a big effort, and a big success,” Yael Sinai Biblash, the CEO of the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, told me last month after she attended Golan’s memorial service in a Tel Aviv suburb.
Bru Pereira and Gui Mohallem, co-directors of VoteLGBT, a Brazilian organization established in 2014 with a mission to increase LGBTQ representation in politics, in response to Trump’s reelection said they and others in Brazil are “witnessing how grassroots efforts, particularly from marginalized communities, are crucial in defending LGBTQ+ rights under right-wing governments.”
Donald Tusk became Polandās prime minister last December after a group of coalition parties that he leads won a majority of seats in the Sejm, the lower house of the countryās parliament. President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the conservative Law and Justice party who opposes LGBTQ rights, remains in office as part of the governing coalition.
Deputy Justice Minister Krzysztof Åmiszek is openly gay. His partner, former MP Robert BiedroÅ, a member of the European Parliament.
Magda Dropek is an activist who ran for the Lesser Poland Regional Assembly in KrakĆ³w, Polandās second-largest city, in April. Lesser Poland is among the provinces that had declared themselves āLGBT-free zonesā ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Dropek noted in her X post in response to the U.S. election results that Sarah McBride last week became the first openly transgender woman elected to Congress.
Dropek, like others, pointed out Russian President Vladimir Putin and other politicians respond to “antagonized societies” with “populism and (sacrifice) human rights.” Dropek, however, stressed the new Polish government presents an opportunity.
“What happened in Poland a year ago is still an important story that brings hope to others,” she said. “It’s a huge responsibility, but also work, because this is the time to change mentalities and educate using democratic tools. Because we’ve been coping with everything else, grassroots support and organization for so many years, you know yourselves.”
Trump leaves office on Jan. 20, 2029.
Opinions
Racism and misogyny are alive in America
Trumpās confounding victory will hurt many people who voted for him
A smart, compassionate, African-American/Asian woman, in a mixed marriage, runs for president and loses to a felon, found liable of sexual assault, twice impeached, and leader of a failed coup. What could be the reason?
I understand people are unhappy with the economy, immigrants coming into our country illegally, and many with their lives in general. But none of this can account for the huge numbers of white, African American, and Latino men, who voted for Trump. In a major shift, Trump won Latino men 54%-44% over Harris, and 50%-39% of white men according to NBC exit polls, and 20% of male Black voters nationally. We need to call that what it is and begin to have a real conversation in this country about it. They are all ending up voting for a man whose policies will hurt them. Whether it be a tax on all the goods they buy, or being anti-union, applauding Elon Musk for firing strikers, or giving tax breaks not to them, but to millionaires and billionaires. African-American men should know he refused to rent them apartments in New York. Latino men should understand he will be knocking on their doors looking for possible family members to deport. All of this overridden by their macho fear of being in a country led by a woman. We have seen this before in Hillary Clintonās race in 2016. Unless we have an open conversation about this, it will continue to happen.
Donald Trump is a threat to all decent people around the world. He admires dictators and he will emulate them. He will override our judicial system, using the Justice Department to get back at his enemies. We know this.
On the abortion issue it appears women voted overwhelmingly to pass every ballot initiative, except the one in South Dakota, to keep abortion legal. It went down in Florida because though 57% voted for it the legislature managed to say it would only pass if it got 60% of the vote. Yet clearly, even many of the white women who voted for these initiatives, didnāt see the danger in then voting for Trump. It is very hard to rationalize. I hear all sorts of explanations on the various news/talk fests on cable TV. People pontificating on all sorts of things. Trying to determine who in the Democratic Party is to blame. In 2016 they blamed the candidate, Hillary. She didnāt do enough, went to the wrong states at the end, didnāt connect with voters. This year they are trying not to blame Harris who was thrown into a campaign only three months before the election. So, many are blaming President Biden for not announcing two years ago he wasnāt going to run again and allowing Democrats to hold a real primary. Who knows, maybe they are right. Harris could never escape the animus toward the Biden administration. She tried valiantly, and I think ran an amazing campaign. As I wrote online, we may have lost an election, but many like me ended up falling in love with Kamala Harris.
There are a few high points from Tuesdayās election, like the victories of two Democratic, African-American women senators, Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware, and Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland. Then Delaware had a double victory, electing Sarah McBride to Congress, where she will become the first elected transgender woman to serve in the House of Representatives. When I write this it looks as if Democrats may actually lose only three senators: Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Jon Tester in Montana, and Republicans won the open seat in West Virginia. Tammy Baldwin will keep her seat from Wisconsin, and in races still too close to call we could see Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, and Jacky Rosen in Nevada, keep their seats. Then Ruben Gallego in Arizona, and Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, have a shot at winning their races in what were open seats. All these results potentially showing the schizophrenia in the electorate in states that Trump won. They all out-performed Harris in their states. After all, a woman senator they know may be OK, but not a strong, African-American/Asian woman, as president.Ā
We will be dissecting this election for years to come, historians will be looking at how Trump could have won. But the reality for those of us living in the United States now, those who Trump has insulted and degraded, including women, African Americans, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, the disabled, nearly everyone one can think of, we will have to live with him and fight back where we can. Hopefully joining hands to do it, as there is strength in numbers. We shall overcome!
Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.
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