Oppose Efforts to Dehumanize Transgender and LGBTQ+ People

On the first day of his administration, Trump signed Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government”. This order seeks to erase trans and nonbinary people, asserting that males and females “are not changeable.” This viewpoint ignores extensive scientific evidence. Subsequently, Trump signed additional anti-trans/LGBTQ+ executive orders:

• “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” not only bans transgender people from serving in the military but also insults and denies their existence entirely.

• “Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” bans gender-affirming medical care, including puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgeries, for “children” under 19 (ignoring that 18-year-olds are legally adults). The prescription of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors is rare, and surgery is even rarer. However, these treatments have life-saving effects.

• “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” withholds federal funds from schools that teach “gender ideology,” “equity ideology,” or support trans and nonbinary students in social transition (such as by using their name and pronouns correctly).

Furthermore, a list of priorities published to the official White House website asserts Trump plans to “bring back American values” by “establish[ing] male and female as biological reality and protect[ing] women from radical gender ideology.”

These egregious attempts to demonize and erase transgender people must be resisted.