Dear Community and Friends,
The last two weeks have been exhausting, and we know you are likely feeling scared. Honestly, we are too. Those of us who have always lived with the threat of violence are now witnessing and experiencing an increase in cruelty and dangerous rhetoric. We are watching as right-wing extremists endanger our democracy and attack our communities, all while blaming trans people for this manufactured mayhem.
As advocates, we know what is behind this dangerous escalation. We’ve known all along. These are coordinated efforts to intimidate and silence our call for full legal and lived equality for transgender people. Black transgender women are still being killed at disproportionate rates. Transgender youth are being kicked off sports teams so politicians can score points. Our own staff can’t even go to Capitol Hill without considering the risks of using the bathroom. At the same time, we are also witnessing a rise in threats of state surveillance, disinformation, criminalization of our neighbors, and a blatant disregard for the rule of law.
They want us all too scattered and too scared to call out what’s happening. But it isn’t working. We see that these actions are all signs of an increasingly repressive government, and we have to say so.
Right-wing extremists aren’t afraid of violence perpetrated by trans people; they are afraid of the truth. It was their congressional leaders who cut Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and aid to farmers, and it is impacting all our families. They are trying to criminalize anyone who they disagree with, hate, or consider “less than.” From National Guard deployments targeting Black youth, to ICE agents abducting our immigrant neighbors in broad daylight, to the silencing of activists and the attacks on progressive organizations—this is an organized effort to scapegoat marginalized communities. We just want to live our lives in peace with dignity and respect.
At Advocates for Trans Equality, we remain focused on how to best respond in this historic moment. It’s clear the United States government will not use its power to protect us. While others offer thoughts and prayers, we are here to act. We take seriously our responsibility to defend your rights—because in doing so, we are defending our own.
Advocates for Trans Equality is choosing to speak out clearly and unapologetically about the moment we are facing. History has shown transgender people how things can get worse—and we also believe they can get better. We are calling on our allies, in our movement and beyond, to have the courage to call for the swift end to the real and rising threat of state persecution.
There is a long record of legal discrimination against transgender people in this country—and we have survived it. We will again. But it is time to say it plainly: we are being directly threatened by an administration that is flouting the law to target trans people and our country’s most vulnerable populations. A4TE will not stand by while they use their power and our tax dollars to impose their unlawful and anti-American agenda.
Here's what we plan to do: we will continue to make sure transgender people know our rights, we will correct the gross disinformation coming from media, and we will continue fighting for the legal and political rights of trans people by mobilizing folks to push back on bad actions, training organizers, meeting with members of congress who will push for our rights, and endorsing and promoting candidates that will fight for us. And of course, we will always be a safe space for the community to heal, breathe, grieve, and laugh together. We are monitoring this situation closely, and looking to lessons learned in the broader social justice movement as a map for how to protect ourselves when we are labeled “violent” just for existing.
We have truth, history, and justice on our side. This backlash is a fearful reaction to our progress. They underestimate our resolve, our love for each other, and the strength that we possess. Trans people have survived everything they have thrown at us—and we don’t surrender easily. Please take care of yourselves, and please stay connected. Drink water. Take naps. And then show up. They will never erase our existence.
In struggle and solidarity,
Andrea "Andy" Hong Marra (she/her)
Chief Executive Officer
Advocates for Trans Equality
