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Hundreds of supporters of the transgender community turned out near the U.S. Capitol in D.C. on Monday for a rally marking National Trans Day of Visibility.
They carried signs with messages such as “Let the Trans Kids Play,” “Trans Lives are Sacred” and “Trans Stories are Everyone’s Stories.”
Many of the supporters were openly rejecting policies and statements that have come out of the White House in the past few months.
Tyler Hack, founder of the Christopher Project, pushed back on President Donald Trump’s declaration that there are only two genders — male and female.
“We are here, we are trans and queer and we’re not going anywhere,” Hack said.
Trump used transgender people’s access to sports and bathrooms to sway conservative voters during his campaign. Transgender people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population.
The Trump Administration focus surrounding transgender people often includes that they are men trying to get access to women’s spaces or are pushed into gender changes that they will later regret.
Medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association have said that gender-affirming treatments can be medically necessary and are supported by evidence.
At Monday’s rally, an opening prayer for the event was offered by Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, who invited the crowd to keep their eyes open during the prayer.
“Go ahead, look around. Take a look: This is beauty, this is power,” Raushenbush said.
The crowd also heard from a number of politicians such as Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.
“We will not stand for their authoritarian bullcrap,” Lee said.
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark told the crowd they had to keep fighting for trans rights.
“They believe there should be a separate set of rules for the wealthy and connected, while the rest of us get pushed further behind. Well, we’re here to say, ‘Enough is enough,'” Clark said.
Studies have found that transgendered women are more likely to be victims of violence.
About half the states have passed laws since 2020 barring transgender people from sports competitions and have banned or restricted gender-affirming medical care for minors, with at least 14 state adopting laws restricting which bathrooms transgender people can use.
Iowa became the first state to remove protections for transgender people from civil rights law, a move that the state made in February.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.