Above Photo: Twitter/ knowyourIX
“We will be here long after this administration is in the trash heap,” the NCTE’s Mara Keisling pledged Monday.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in New York City’s Washington Square Park on Sunday night, angrily reacting to reports that the Trump administration is considering a narrower legal definition of gender.
The move would be tantamount to the government’s declaring there’s no such thing as “transgender” and would effectively exclude transgender and nonbinary people from basic civil rights protections currently guaranteed by federal law.
Understandably, LGBTQ advocacy groups like the National Center for Transgender Equality, Lambda Legal and GLAAD responded with force.
A Sunday night protest in New York, hastily organized after The New York Times first reported the proposed change, drew strong turnout. A follow-up demonstration at the White House at 12:30 p.m. Monday has inspired a forceful response as well, with as many as 2,000 people on social media showing interest in attending, united under the hashtag #WeWontBeErased.
“I am livid but clear-headed,” NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling said Monday before the White House protest. “We will be here long after this administration is in the trash heap.”
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.
We won’t be erased.#WeWontBeErased.
And we won’t stop fighting.— Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) October 21, 2018
See photos from the protests below:
“As a cisgender queer person, it is our job to show for our TGNC siblings.” – @SaraRamirez #WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/FzFYEuJ1vM
— Jason Rosenberg (@mynameisjro) October 21, 2018
? Rally against the Trump administration’s latest attack on trans people.
NYC: Tonight in Washington Square Park with @voices4_ & @LambdaLegal: https://t.co/3OyEkVe5RJ
DC: Tomorrow at the White House with @TransEquality: https://t.co/Mr0PYU5RyI#WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/70dUBfA6nX
— GLAAD (@glaad) October 21, 2018
We are out here in force. We are not going back. @realDonaldTrump, #transgender people #WontBeErased! pic.twitter.com/kLJIrktYRd
— Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) October 21, 2018
If you feel love & compassion, please share#WeWontBeErased ? pic.twitter.com/eegz69moHc
— Mathew Mooner (@MathewMooner) October 22, 2018
Easily a couple hundred people here already for the #WeWontBeErased protest, waving #trans pride flags in opposition to the Trump administration’s proposal to define gender in strict terms, based on a person’s biology at birth. #DC pic.twitter.com/IjLdrZqOkY
— Marissa J. Lang (@Marissa_Jae) October 22, 2018
I’m here. Overheard at the White House: “this is my therapy. Every time something bad happens, I hit the street…protesting and door knocking.” #WeWontBeErased #queerthevote pic.twitter.com/xJ2rZyIjpY
— Kierra Johnson (@KierraDC) October 22, 2018
“We are here, we are part of America, and we aren’t going anywhere… it’s is time for us to get strong laws to ensure LGBTQ people are fully protected.” #WeWontBeErased pic.twitter.com/r2AXPQNfHk
— Know Your IX (@knowyourIX) October 22, 2018
Outside the White House hundreds rally for transgender rights. This is after @nytimes reported that the Department of Health and Human Services is looking to establish a legal definition of gender. #WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/yOsVZipddt
— Jennifer Munoz (@JennifermunozTV) October 22, 2018
Transgender people face extremely high rates of violence. 1 in 2 transgender people are survivors. Trans people need more protections, not less. Trans survivors #WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/rUjy7T4ciX
— Know Your IX (@knowyourIX) October 22, 2018