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President Joe Biden released the first presidential proclamation on Wednesday recognizing Transgender Visibility Day.
The day is dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of the discrimination and violence they face on a daily basis.
In his proclamation, Biden said Trans Visibility Day recognizes generations of activism from transgender and non-binary people.
“Their groundbreaking work has given countless transgender people the courage to live openly and authentically,” Biden wrote. “These relentless advancements are also shaping an increasingly tolerant world in which school peers, teammates and coaches on the playing field, co-workers and allies from all corners of society support and are in solidarity with the transgender community.
Despite advances for lesbian, gay, bisexual and gay Americans, such as marriage equality, Biden said trans people “still face systemic barriers to freedom and equality.” , such as higher rates of violence, harassment and discrimination.
Almost one in 3 trans people have experienced homelessness, Biden wrote, and they also face discrimination in employment, housing, health care and public accommodation.
“The crisis of violence against transgender women, especially transgender women of color, is a stain on our nation’s conscience,” Biden said. Forty-four transgender people were killed in the United States last year, a record; 23 of them were black trans women.
Biden said his administration has already started implementing new policies to protect trans people, such as the executive order he issued on day one of his presidency to extend protections against discrimination for LGBTQ people under federal laws such as the Affordable Housing Act.
He also mentioned “the first openly transgender American to be confirmed by the United States Senate” – Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary of Health – and “members of the Transgender Patriotic Service, who are once again able to serve proudly and openly. their country ”- refers to his executive order rescinding former President Donald Trump’s ban on serving transgender people in the military.
But he also called on Congress to pass the Equality Act, a sweeping bill that would give LGBTQ people protections against discrimination in employment, housing, education, credit, service. jury and more.
“To more fully protect the civil rights of transgender Americans, we must pass the Equality Act and provide long-awaited federal civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” he said. writes Biden. “It will serve as a lasting legacy of the bravery and courage of the LGBTQ + movement.”
From 2012 to 2014, the Obama administration recognized Transgender Day of Remembrance, a November day dedicated to commemorating trans people who were killed.
Trump did not recognize the Day of Remembrance or the visibility of trans, and for three of his four years as president, he neither recognized nor proclaimed the LGBTQ pride month of June like Obama did. has done throughout the eight years of his presidency.
In June 2019, Trump recognized Pride Month for the first time in a series of tweets, writing: “My administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and call on all nations to join us in this effort. ! “
Critics noted at the time that Trump had recently rolled back protections against discrimination in healthcare for trans people, and opposed passage of the equality law.
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