Transgender activists' National Mall rally to be joined by a dozen members of Congress: organizers
The Trans Day of Visibility Rally will take place on the National Mall Monday afternoon, with organizers prepared to tell the Trump administration, "We’re not going anywhere," according to the organizers' flyer.
A dozen congressional lawmakers are expected to make an appearance at the rally.
The rally, organized "after relentless attacks from the Trump administration on the transgender community," is one of several large-scale protests and marches held for Trans Day of Visibility on March 31, which was officially designated by former President Biden annually beginning in 2021.
The event, organized by the Christopher Street Project — a nonprofit with a PAC focused on electing "champions for the transgender community" — is also supported by a dozen other organizations.
Tensions remain high as transgender issues remain a focal point in U.S. politics and the culture war, with several high-profile Democrats, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, coming out in recent weeks against biological men in women's sports. The U.S. Supreme Court will also either decide or hear oral arguments on a number of LGBTQ-related cases this year, while both red and blue states pass their own laws to either limit or expand transgender medical treatments for minors.
While Trans Day of Visibility has typically been a celebration in recent years, this year’s mood shifted to one of protest against President Donald Trump’s gender-related executive orders.
Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at limiting gender ideology's influence in federal policies and education since taking back the White House. In February, Trump signed an executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," banning biological males from participating in female-designated athletic competitions. Trump also signed the "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" executive order establishing a binary definition of sex as male and female, determined at conception.
Over the weekend, several blue cities hosted rallies and festivals, including Trans Fest, which featured an indigenous prayer led by activist Angel C. Fabian, who uses he/she/they pronouns and is known in "ceremonial spaces" as Tlahuizpapalotl, or "Butterfly of Light." The event also offered legal assistance, workshops on rights, political education classes, survival skills and self-defense sessions, according to its advertisement on social media.
The National Mall rally is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. ET.