The United States President, Joe Biden, on Wednesday, issued the
first presidential proclamation recognising March 31st as Transgender Day of
Visibility.
According to reports, the day is now dedicated to celebrating transgender
people and bringing awareness to the discrimination and violence they face
every day.
In his proclamation on Wednesday, Biden said Trans Day of Visibility
recognises the generations of activism by transgender and nonbinary people.
He wrote, “Their trailblazing work has given countless transgender individuals
the bravery to live openly and authentically. 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.
The US president said, ''Nearly 1 in 3 trans people have experienced
homelessness and they also face discrimination in employment, housing, health
care and public accommodations.
“The crisis of violence against transgender women, especially transgender women
of colour, 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.''
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. It will serve as a lasting
legacy to the bravery and fortitude of the LGBTQ+ movement,” he said.
Source: SaharaReporters
BHG-InfoDesk
0 Comments