Transgender Day of Visibility rallies held amid backlash
CTV
Thousands of people rallied across the country Friday as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility in support of the rights of transgender people and their resilience amid what many denounced as an increasingly hostile environment.
Thousands of people rallied across the country Friday as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility in support of the rights of transgender people and their resilience amid what many denounced as an increasingly hostile environment.
Supporters of transgender rights converged on statehouses nationwide, at the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., and at other venues to mark a day of unity first proclaimed more than a decade ago.
Chanting, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it!" many at the statehouse in Montpelier, Vermont, draped themselves in pride flags or carried posters with messages like "yay gay" or "protect trans kids."
Transgender youth as young as middle-school age stood in front of the Vermont crowd and told of their struggles with their sexuality at a time when many people across the country refuse to acknowledge them.
Charlie Draugh, a 17-year-old high school senior from Chisago, Minnesota, who attends a boarding school in Vermont, said he was angry that groups are trying to control his life and turn him into a political pawn.
"My life is not your debate," Draugh said. "It is not a political issue. I am not hurting anyone and I am certainly not hurting myself."
The rallies came as Republican lawmakers across the U.S. have pursued hundreds of proposals this year to push back on LGBTQ2S+ rights, particularly those of transgender residents, including banning transgender girls from girls' sports, keeping transgender people from using restrooms in line with their gender identities and requiring schools to deadname transgender students -- requiring they be identified by names they were given at birth.
