‘We Will Not Be Erased’: Fierce Backlash Ignites Over Plan That Would Eradicate Protections For Transgender People
Multiple California groups have already vowed to oppose the draft proposal. “Rest assured, medicine, science and the law are all on our side — not the Administration’s — and so are Californians, a majority of whom want our government to do more — not less — to support and protect our transgender family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California.
Los Angeles Times:
Transgender Advocates Decry Trump Administration Proposal To Define Gender As Fixed At Birth
L.A.’s LGBTQ leaders see the potential policy change as an effort to systematically undermine a national recognition of transgender people ushered in by the Obama White House. And while they aren’t surprised by the Trump administration’s effort to establish a strict legal definition of sex, they say they are still alarmed. Advocates fear the sweeping change would breed an increase in hate and violence toward transgender people, lead to new barriers in obtaining adequate healthcare and education, and induce a greater sense of hopelessness and isolation in a community that already exists on the farthest margins of society. (Newberry, 10/22)
Capital Public Radio:
California Transgender Groups Poised To Fight Possible Trump Proposal
California advocates say a draft Trump administration proposal would roll back important protections for transgender people, especially students — though the state’s own legal protections would stand. The federal government is considering excluding transgender people from Title IX, the code that bans sex discrimination in schools, according to an internal memo obtained by The New York Times. (Caiola, 10/22)
The New York Times:
At Rallies And Online, Transgender People Say They #WontBeErased
L.G.B.T. activists mobilized a fast and fierce campaign that included a protest outside the White House on Monday to say transgender people cannot be expunged from society, in response to an unreleased Trump administration memo that proposes a strict definition of gender based on a person’s genitalia at birth. The existence of the draft memo, the administration’s latest effort to roll back the recognition and protection of transgender people under federal civil rights law, was reported by The New York Times on Sunday morning. (Mervosh and Hauser, 10/22)
Politico:
Trump Administration Proposal On Transgender Protections Spurs Protests
“I am livid, but clear-headed,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, who spoke during a press conference at the headquarters for the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., before the march. “We will be here long after this administration is in the trash heap.” (Emma, 10/22)
The Associated Press:
Fury Over Reported Federal Plan Targeting Transgender People
"I feel very threatened, but I am absolutely resolute," Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Rights, said at a news conference convened by more than a dozen activist leaders. "We will stand up and be resilient, and we will be here long after this administration is in the trash heap." The activist leaders, speaking amid posters reading "#Won'tBeErased", later addressed a protest rally outside the White House. (10/22)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Considering ‘Different Concepts’ Regarding Transgender Rights, With Some Pushing Back Internally
Trump confirmed Monday that a policy change toward transgender people was under consideration but said that there is more than one way to approach the issue. He was not specific about the potential alternatives. “We’re looking at it. We have a lot of different concepts right now. They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now,” Trump said. “And we’re looking at it very seriously.” Asked about his promise to protect LGBT people, he replied: “You know what I’m doing? I’m protecting everybody.” (Meckler, Schmidt and Sun, 10/22)
The Associated Press:
Science Says: Sex And Gender Aren't The Same
Anatomy at birth may prompt a check in the "male" or "female" box on the birth certificate — but to doctors and scientists, sex and gender aren't always the same thing. The Trump administration purportedly is considering defining gender as determined by sex organs at birth, which if adopted could deny certain civil rights protections to an estimated 1.4 million transgender Americans. (10/23)
The New York Times:
Anatomy Does Not Determine Gender, Experts Say
Researchers who have studied gender issues and provided health care to people who do not fit the typical M/F pigeonholes said that the Trump administration’s latest plan to define gender goes beyond the limits of scientific knowledge. “The idea that a person’s sex is determined by their anatomy at birth is not true, and we’ve known that it’s not true for decades,” said Dr. Joshua D. Safer, an endocrinologist and executive director of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System in New York. He is also president of the United States Professional Association of Transgender Health. (Grady, 10/22)
Stat:
Scientists See A Problem With Trump Plan On Defining Sex: Biology
A new report that the Trump administration hopes to legally define a person’s sex at birth — an unchangeable condition determined by genitalia — has prompted an outcry among the transgender community. But beyond the political implications — and fears that any such change could ultimately mean the end of civil rights protections for transgender people — the proposal raises fundamental questions about something else: biology. The proposal is “highly inaccurate and just an insult to science. Basic science,” said Rachel Levin, a Pomona College neuroscientist who studies the development of sex. (Thielking, 10/22)