Lawmakers Push Back on Trump's Attempts to Erase Trans People
Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter
Over the last week, lawmakers have (finally) started to clap back against the Trump administration and other far-right politicians' efforts to erase trans people from society.
On Tuesday, an Ohio court partially overturned a ban on gender-affirming care for LGBTQ youth, allowing doctors to continue prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy and declaring that stripping these medications from trans kids violates the Health Care Freedom Amendment in Ohio’s Constitution. At the national level, a federal judge blocked Trump’s transgender military ban, ruling that it’s “soaked in animus” and that the administration had mischaracterized medical studies to justify the ban. And last week, after a Republican Representative grossly misgendered trans-Congresswoman Sarah McBride, Democratic Representative Bill Keating pushed back, saying his language was not decent and refusing to continue the meeting until he accurately gendered McBride.
These are unprecedented times. Unpredictable times. Times where institutional dehumanization by the federal government of the trans and nonbinary community is happening at a relentless pace. For folks who aren’t affected by these inhumane policies and laws, it’s so much easier to turn off the TV, ignore the headlines and focus on their own well-being by pretending this isn’t happening.
But for people committed to protecting human rights and advocating for the underdog, this is not the time to disengage. Now more than ever is the time to act up and act out. The judges and the courts are beginning to push back in the name of the Constitution and in the name of human decency.
Every single one of us should feel emboldened to speak up for queer minorities whose rights are being removed and whose existence is being questioned by the people who run the so-called free world.
As Harvey Milk famously said in his speech at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade, "We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets."
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Hungary's New Anti-LGBTQ+ Law Bans Pride Events and Sparks Protests (AP)
A new anti-LGBTQ law banning Pride events and allowing authorities to use facial recognition software to identify those attending the festivities was passed in Hungary on Tuesday, leading to a large demonstration on the streets of Budapest.
Judge Blocks Trump’s Effort to Ban Transgender Troops (Politico)
The Pentagon cannot enforce President Donald Trump’s order banning transgender people from serving in the military, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying it is “soaked in animus” and unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of sex.
There’s a Name for What Trump is Doing to Trans People: Denationalizing (The New York Times)
City Council Declares Boston a ‘Sanctuary City’ for Transgender Community (NBC News)
The resolution's sponsors said "Boston is not going to back down" amid harmful anti-transgender rhetoric coming from President Trump and the White House.
We’re switching up our schedule! Don’t worry, we’ll still be releasing two originally reported stories a week, but now you can look out for them on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
If you don’t follow us on Instagram and Bluesky, you should check us out! We give breaking news updates about the LGBTQ community on the daily.
Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕 When Eli and Joanna Morningstar’s child Daisy, assigned male at birth, first expressed a desire to be a girl at just three years old, the Brooklyn-based parents—who are both trans themselves—chose to listen and affirm their daughter’s identity. While Daisy is thriving, the current political climate toward trans kids and their parents can make life tricky to navigate. In this in-depth piece, Emma Paidra explores the Morningstars’ journey and the debate surrounding gender identity in young children.
🆕 Since becoming President Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt has become a household name. But what is her track record when it comes to LGBTQ issues and other minority groups? As Ben Land discovers, her record isn’t great.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief — spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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