Protests Erupt Against Trump's Anti-Trans Memo
A memo from the Trump administration seeks to limit gender identification to male or female, making it unchangeable from the moment of birth, the New York Times reported Sunday.
Activists marched down D.C.’s Pennsylvania Avenue, just meters from the White House. "An attempt to put restraints on the lives of 2 million people, effectively abandoning our right to equal access to health care, to housing, to education, or to fair treatment under the law," said the National Center for Transgender Equality.
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The Trump administration's transgender proposal narrows the definition of gender to male or female at birth, to be unchangeable thereafter.Reuters
Protesters took to the streets and social media to voice their dissent Oct. 22, Los Angeles, USA.Reuters
The move would revoke recognition and protections for transgender people under U.S. civil rights law.Reuters
"I'm protecting everybody. I want to protect our country," Trump said when asked about a campaign promise to protect the LGBT community.Reuters
A week earlier, New York City had created a gender-neutral "X" option for birth certificates. California, Oregon, Washington state and New Jersey offer a third gender category on government-issued documents.Reuters
The new policy would be impossible to apply to "intersex" babies who are born with ambiguous genitalia or reproductive organs, doctors said.Reuters
“Singling out and stigmatizing your transgender constituents isn’t just the antithesis of constituent service," said Democratic Virginia House Delegate Danica Roem. "It’s dangerous and gets us killed."Reuters
"We urge the administration to ensure all public health policy is firmly rooted in science, and to keep discrimination and political interference out of our nation’s health,” said Dr. Lisa Hollier, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Reuters