THE FIGHT SF / BAY AREA LGBTQ MONTHY MAGAZINE JULY 2019
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BEYOND<br />
SOUND<br />
BITES<br />
BY ORLY LYONNE<br />
AT LEAST ELEVEN<br />
BLACK TRANS<br />
WOMEN HAVE<br />
BEEN KILLED THIS<br />
YEAR. MEANWHILE<br />
<strong>THE</strong> TRUMP<br />
ADMINISTRATION<br />
IS TRYING TO GIVE<br />
MEDICAL PROVIDERS<br />
AND INSURANCE<br />
COMPANIES LICENSE<br />
TO DISCRIMINATE<br />
AGAINST TRANS<br />
PEOPLE.<br />
In<br />
a historic moment, Democratic<br />
presidential hopeful Julián Castro<br />
used the televised debate stage<br />
last month to support civil rights for transgender<br />
people, reports Sony Salzman at<br />
www.rewire.news.<br />
His comments were echoed later by<br />
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who called for<br />
justice for black trans women. Of the 20<br />
candidates invited to the debate stage<br />
across two nights, Castro and Booker<br />
were the only two to specifically mention<br />
transgender rights.<br />
A spokesperson for media watchdog<br />
group Media Matters for America noted<br />
that Castro and Booker’s comments are<br />
likely “the first time that trans rights were<br />
mentioned in an affirming way.”<br />
This discussion of transgender rights on<br />
a presidential debate stage may signal the<br />
Democratic Party’s willingness to embrace<br />
broader civil rights and social justice platforms<br />
amid a shifting national conversation<br />
around <strong>LGBTQ</strong> rights, writes Salzman.<br />
In 2008, not a single Democratic candidate<br />
endorsed marriage equality. But<br />
by 2016, the official Democratic platform<br />
included a section affirming that “LGBT<br />
rights are human rights and that American<br />
foreign policy should advance the ability<br />
of all persons to live with dignity, security,<br />
and respect, regardless of who they are or<br />
who they love.”<br />
Though historic, Castro and Booker’s<br />
comments reminded advocates how marginalized<br />
and misunderstood the transgender<br />
community remains, reported www.<br />
rewire.news.<br />
“It seems both Julián Castro and Cory<br />
Booker are ready to fight for [transgender/gender<br />
non-conforming] people,”<br />
said Cecilia Chung, senior director of<br />
strategic initiatives and evaluation at the<br />
Transgender Law Center.<br />
“However, for their comments to move<br />
beyond sound bites, they need to take<br />
action,” she said. For example, “Neither<br />
of them mentioned how they would seek<br />
input from trans communities, and this<br />
should be a focus for all the candidates.”<br />
“In my opinion, trans rights were not<br />
talked about,” said Lourdes Ashley<br />
Hunter, executive director of the Trans<br />
Women of Color Collective. “There was a<br />
mention of trans people … [but] they were<br />
mentioned as a ploy to pander to marginalized<br />
communities.”<br />
Chung noted that at least eleven<br />
black trans women have been killed this<br />
year. Meanwhile, she said, “the Trump<br />
Administration is trying to give medical<br />
providers and insurance companies license<br />
to discriminate against trans people, which<br />
would disproportionately impact Black trans<br />
people and trans people living with HIV.”<br />
And for Hunter, it’s not enough to mention<br />
these deaths in passing.<br />
“We can talk about murders, but we<br />
need to talk about how that is manifesting,”<br />
Hunter said, noting that structural<br />
issues enabling violence against trans<br />
women go much deeper than military bans<br />
and health-care issues, and include fundamental<br />
services that many in the United<br />
States take for granted, such as the ability<br />
to use a public restroom and get a driver’s<br />
license that matches their gender identity.<br />
“I hope the next president would appoint<br />
trans people to their team as well as<br />
to the judicial branch, so that we can be<br />
more than just an afterthought to campaigns,<br />
but instead front and center having<br />
our needs represented,” said Chung.<br />
12 <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> <strong>SF</strong> | www.thefightmag.com