THE FIGHT SF / BAY AREA LGBTQ MONTHY MAGAZINE JULY 2019

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