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Safiya Noble is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Studies in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. In her P...

The Republican-controlled Montana House of Representatives voted Wednesday to censure the state’s first and only openly transgender lawmaker, Zooey Zephyr, banning her from the House floor and forbidding her from speaking, a week after Zephyr delivered a searing condemnation of a bill that would ban gender-affirming healthcare for youth. Zephyr will only be able to cast votes remotely for the remainder of the legislative session. We speak to Zephyr about the spate of anti-trans bills that target trans youth across the country and how “far-right” legislatures like Montana’s are attempting to “silence those who are holding them accountable.”

Queer and trans youth led actions across the United States Friday, marking International Transgender Day of Visibility amid intensifying discrimination, violence and anti-trans laws pushed by Republicans. Here in New York, hundreds took to the streets in a march organized by NYC Youth for Trans Rights. Democracy Now! producers Tey-Marie Astudillo and María Taracena were there and spoke to 17-year-old Raven. Raven: “It is so amazing to look around and see people like me that have had the same experiences as me, who know what it’s like to be trans. And it’s so great to just, you know, watch everybody be happy and be themselves in a safe place. … I’m the happiest I’ve been in a really, really long time here in this space with these people. And I think that it’s so good for people who think that they’re alone to know that they have people out there, people fighting for them, people fighting with them, people on their side, because, like, a lot of them just don’t have that. They go through so, so, so much. And gathering around, being able to look at people and hug people and talk to people that are like them, is something that can really heal the heart.”

On Trans Day of Visibility, we look at the wave of anti-trans laws being enacted across the U.S., with dozens more anti-trans bills making their way through state legislatures. The Arkansas Senate has approved one of the most harmful bans on access to healthcare for transgender youth by prohibiting the use of gender-affirming care, including hormones and puberty blockers. Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi have enacted new laws aimed at banning trans athletes from joining sports teams, and in South Dakota, two executive orders bar trans women and girls from playing school sports. “We are truly witnessing an escalation of attacks on trans people unlike anything I’ve ever seen in government,” says Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project. We also speak with journalist and activist Raquel Willis, who says higher visibility for trans people is not enough. “We can’t just rest on some of the social strides that we’ve made,” says Willis. “We also need to be using that action to change our material realities and protect our rights.” #DemocracyNow Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.org Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: https://democracynow.org/donate FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: YouTube: http://youtube.com/democracynow Facebook: http://facebook.com/democracynow Twitter: https://twitter.com/democracynow Instagram: http://instagram.com/democracynow SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/democracynow iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/democracy-now!-audio/id73802554 Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Transgender Rights.

There's a LOT of misinformation out there about transgender kids. Most of it's based on outdated "science," and yet the mainstream media keep reporting the same bogus "facts." Find more at www.gendermom.com.

Every day, people question why we advocate for trans rights. “How many trans people are there, really?” we are asked. Or, “Isn’t this just a new niche issue that serves as a distraction from the issues that really matter?” But trans people have always existed, and our lives have always mattered. And though we have and continue to face rampant discrimination, so too have we built beautiful communities and movements of resistance and love. Through a collaborative video from the ACLU, Transparent producer and artist Zackary Drucker, Emmy-nominated actress Laverne Cox and the creative team of Molly Crabapple and Kim Boekbinder, we are telling the story of trans history and resistance. This video comes on the heels of the President’s tweets seeking to ban transgender individuals from military service and in the midst of continued legislative efforts in states like Texas to ban transgender individuals from public restrooms. The consequences of this discrimination from our government are deadly. In one comprehensive survey of over 27,000 transgender individuals in 2015, almost one in three respondents reported living in poverty, over half reported being denied health care related to their gender transition, one of every four indicated that they did not seek medical attention at all due to fear of discrimination and more than three of every four reported experiencing harassment in school because they were trans, ultimately leading to 17% of respondents dropping out of secondary school altogether. All of this contributes to a cycle of discrimination and violence that leads to homelessness, incarceration and ultimately, for many — particularly trans women of color — premature death. Indeed, at least 15 trans people, almost all women of color, have been murdered so far this year in the United States. And two of every five American trans people attempt suicide at least once in their life. Without accurate information about trans people, our lives and our rich histories, the impulse to push us out of public life will continue. But we continue to tell our vivid, vibrant and critical story of trans resistance. Time marches forward, and so do we.

In Part 2 of our interview, ACLU attorney Chase Strangio describes in detail the state-level attacks on trans youth, and the intensifying international push to eradicate trans lives.

We speak with Chase Strangio of the ACLU about recent anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida, Texas, and Idaho, and pending bills in other states. Florida's "Don't Say Gay" education bill aims to ban the mere discussion of sexuality and gender identity in schools. A bill in Idaho criminalizes gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children and teens. Meanwhile, welfare officials in Texas have begun to carry out Republican Governor Greg Abbott's directive to launch child abuse investigations against parents who seek gender-affirming care for their transgender children. "What we're seeing is a national, well-funded effort to attack and eradicate trans youth and trans lives specifically," says Strangio, who is also an attorney in the ACLU’s lawsuit against Abbott. #DemocracyNow Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.org Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: https://democracynow.org/donate FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: YouTube: http://youtube.com/democracynow Facebook: http://facebook.com/democracynow Twitter: https://twitter.com/democracynow Instagram: http://instagram.com/democracynow SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/democracynow iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/democracy-now!-audio/id73802554 Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe

Marlo Mack and her young transgender daughter share their story in a short cartoon. Learn more on Marlo's blog, www.gendermom.com or check out her "How to Be a Girl" podcast.

At least 150 bills have been filed by Republican lawmakers across the United States that target transgender people, with at least seven states enacting bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. Other bills have targeted drag performers, doctors and trans adults seeking transition-related care. For more on growing conservative attacks on transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community, we speak to Chase Strangio, deputy director for trans justice with the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, who says the backlash “at its core has always been about pushing trans people out of public life and eradicating transness.”