US President Joe Biden on Wednesday issued the first presidential proclamation recognizing March 31st as Transgender Day of Visibility.
The day is now dedicated to celebrating transgender people and bringing awareness to the discrimination and violence they face every day.
In his proclamation, Biden said Trans Day of Visibility recognizes the generations of activism by transgender and nonbinary people.
“Their trailblazing work has given countless transgender individuals the bravery to live openly and authentically,” Biden wrote. “This hard-fought progress is also shaping an increasingly accepting world in which peers at school, teammates and coaches on the playing field, colleagues at work, and allies in every corner of society are standing in support and solidarity with the transgender community.”
Biden explained that trans people “still face systemic barriers to freedom and equality,” such as higher rates of violence, harassment and discrimination.
”Nearly 1 in 3 trans people have experienced homelessness and they also face discrimination in employment, housing, health care and public accommodations.” Biden said
“The crisis of violence against transgender women, especially transgender women of color, is a stain on our Nation’s conscience. Forty-four transgender people were killed in the United States last year, a record; 23 of them were Black trans women.” he added
Biden said his administration has already started implementing new policies to protect trans people, such as the executive order he issued on the first day of his presidency to expand discrimination protections 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, the assistant secretary for health and “patriotic transgender service members, who are once again able to proudly and openly serve their country” a reference to his executive order undoing former President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military.
Biden also called on Congress to pass the Equality Act, a sweeping bill that would grant LGBTQ people protections from discrimination in employment, housing, education, credit, jury service, and more.
“To more fully protect the civil rights of transgender Americans, we must pass the Equality Act and provide long-overdue Federal civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” Biden wrote. “It will serve as a lasting legacy to the bravery and fortitude of the LGBTQ+ movement.”
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