31-03-2025
On Trans Day of Visibility, Chicago leaders push back on Trump's attacks
A coalition of elected officials and human rights activists is warning that the Trump administration's attacks won't stop with the transgender community.
Driving the news: On Monday, International Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV), state, county and city politicians joined LGBTQ+ rights organizations to push back on the narratives the administration has spun about transgender people and proclaim they won't be made invisible.
More than 5,000 people marched through downtown Sunday as part of a TDOV event organized by Illinois-based advocacy group Trans Up Front.
The big picture: Multiple executive orders by Trump have attempted to roll back protections and civil rights for transgender people.
What they're saying:"Trans people are oftentimes labeled as an invisible population," Brave Space Alliance CEO Channyn Lynne Parker said. "There is nothing invisible about us."
"We are not here to be cuddled or coddled."
Zoom in: Several speakers warned that the administration would not stop with the transgender community, suggesting the president will attempt to strip other groups of rights and freedoms.
"If you're not at the table, you're on the menu," Caprice Carthans from Life is Work said. "We are all on the menu."
Zoom out: The frustrations extend beyond the executive branch. Several speakers Monday said they think some Democrats are either scapegoating the community or treating them as victims.
"Folks are suggesting that we lost because of the trans community," state Rep. Kelly Cassidy told Axios.
"We heard our former mayor make jokes about locker rooms and suggest this was the cause," Cassidy said, referring to Rahm Emanuel's recent comments to Bill Maher.
