Trans people to be ‘front and centre’ of Pride Month in push back against anti-trans laws
A giant trans flag unfurled outside the US Supreme Court. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Trans and non-binary people are set to be “front and centre” of Pride Month campaigns in the US, as organisers hope to bring attention to the recent wave of anti-trans laws.
Republican bills in dozens of states propose banning healthcare for young trans people, preventing trans students from playing school sports and criminalising parents who support their trans kids.
“Those bills are damaging, those bills are dehumanising,” Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Alphonso David told The Hill.
HRC will be using Pride Month “as a platform to really amplify the importance of advocacy and engagement”, David said.
He added: “We need to make sure that the community understands and appreciates the current climate that we live in, in the United States, where state legislators are looking to take away legal protections that we have.
“We have members of the trans and non-binary community that are living in a state of fear.”
According to HRC, more than 250 anti-LGBT+ bills have been introduced in US states this year, including at least 35 blocking trans youth from accessing gender-affirming healthcare.
Cathy Renna, communications director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, said that in response to this, trans people will be “front and centre” at Pride Month events.
“In some ways, Pride will be very different, but it will also not be that different in that we are using Pride as a platform to elevate and amplify these issues and get people talking about them,” said Renna.
She continued: “You’re going to see a tremendous amount of visibility of both trans youth and adolescents, and also their allies, and their families. That’s not something we’ve seen as much of until really the last few years.”
David added that HRC welcomed the positive signalling of Joe Biden’s administration when it came to LGBT+ rights, including Biden’s support for the Equality Act.
“We’re looking forward to having an administration that actually celebrates pride, as opposed to an administration that is looking to denounce LGBTQ equality,” he added.
