If you’re out of the loop or intentionally avoiding social media and the news cycle, then I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this. Two executive orders were written yesterday by Donald Trump that specifically target transgender rights and freedoms. One targeting the rights of transgender members of the military, another targeting the healthcare rights of transgender youth. These bills state in no uncertain terms that trans people are unsafe evil liars deserving of contempt and exclusion. This is not an exaggeration, and the shift in the narrative behind these executive orders is extremely alarming and likely to be seen again as the basis for further attacks against us.
There is a narrative created by these two orders. A narrative that trans people are dishonorable, that trans people lack selflessness and humility, and that we are liars. That we are wrong that our existence is wrong. That it doesn’t matter whether transition decreases our suicide rate, whether it allows us to live happy, fulfilling lives. That death itself is preferable to the existence of an adult trans person. That being transgender is by itself wrong and makes us worth less than cisgender people. A narrative that children must be protected from becoming transgender people, even if it means they die. That no one can be allowed to think that being transgender is alright, that it’s okay to be a transgender person.
This cannot go unchallenged. It’s not enough for trans people to resist alone. This has to come from everyone, this cannot be accepted by American society. The writing is on the wall. This amounts to dehumanizing persecution intended to foster perceptions of us as inhuman. It is going to get worse. This is week 2. What awaits us in a year no one can say for sure. We need protests we need civil disobedience. We need to help our most vulnerable get out. We need to protect trans youth.
Please refer to the transgender resistance network for mutual aid and help. I had tried last year to organize something here but was not capable of it due to problems in my own personal life.
We need solidarity. We need to help each other. And we have to resist. Not just these orders, not just this narrative, but we have to resist the fall into hopelessness and acceptance. We have to fight. Our lives have value. Our lives are worth the same as anyone else. Don’t let them get to you, don’t believe in the narrative. Transition saved my life, maybe it saved yours too. Transitioning and seeing others transition has been the most beautiful and rewarding experience of my life. I refuse to accept a reality in which we are forced into closets, forced into hiding. I beg of everyone to join me in refusing that outcome.
Links to the two executive orders:
Coverage from Erin in the Morning, more on the military ban than the healthcare EO: https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/the-chilling-line-trump-just-crossed
Maybe a pedantic distinction, but executive orders are not bills or laws, they only reach as far as the executive branch has power.
This is relevant because he is writing many illegal executive orders, e.g. trying to end birthright citizenship despite being encoded in the Constitution. Likewise, banning trans healthcare for minors across the U.S. is something only Congress can do, and most of the things in this EO are attempting to defund or otherwise attack that healthcare rather than outright ban it like a law would.
It does seem like an obvious consequence is that Medicare and Medicaid won’t cover gender affirming care for minors (Sec. 5, part i), and he is going to try to use existing laws to try to bring prosecute people in shield states for providing that care, even if he fails in court it will do damage by scaring providers into voluntarily refusing care to avoid being involved in lawsuits.
Also it does look like this trans healthcare EO is trying to recreate the UK’s Cass Review, (Sec. 3, part ii):
By appointing loyalists across organizations he can force authorities on health to support anti-trans views on that are not supported by the evidence. Not unlike how he appointed anti-environmentalists to the head of the EPA in his first term, and suddenly the EPA was taking positions that were contrary to the role of the organization, like rolling back regulations on the coal industry.
Trump is just going to try shit, but that doesn’t mean it will work out for him in the end.
While it’s true that his executive orders are unconstitutional, what does it matter if the people who are supposed to enforce those rules of law instead comply with Trumps orders? While I certainly hope that those in power will reign him in , I have very little faith that they will. We all know that the SCOTUS is firmly in his pocket and while not a super majority there is certainly a plurality of supporters in the two houses of congress. I’ve also seen very little push back from the democrats in office aside from some token efforts. They threw us under the bus after they lost the election and I don’t see them actually standing up for us anytime soon.
Sadly it would seem that we are on our own. Find what help you can from supportive friends and family. Allies are the only real protections we have left. But I would encourage all LGBT folk and especially trans people to make real solid plans for any new policies they might enact.
Find alternative sources for your meds, a good resource is Transgendermap.com If your doctor will agree to it have them change your diagnosis to something that won’t be regulated against. Millions of cis people have low testosterone or estrogen, spiro is sometimes used as a diuretic. Anything you can do to ensure your continued health and wellness in case gender affirming care gets banned.
You should also make concrete plans to run if it comes to it. Get together some cash if you can afford to save, get jewelry that can also be traded or sold in an emergency. It draws less attention than a stack of cash and is easier to hide. Pack a go bag with all of your essentials. Find where your nearest border crossings are and get your papers in order. It’s a good idea to get travel visas arranged ahead of time, many countries have short term visitor visas that can be used anytime in a 2 year window once you’ve registered for it. It’s also not a bad idea to look at a map and decide where you might jump the border outside of the official crossing points.
Lastly, learn to defend yourselves. Take self-defense classes, learn a martial art. Kravmaga was created with rapid training and maximum effectiveness in mind. Take a firearms safety class and arm yourselves. .380 is a good caliber for beginners, it has low recoil and decent energy transfer, 9mm is better but has more recoil. Once you’ve taken a class and procured a weapon practice with it, go to a range and practice regularly, a tool is only ever as good as its user. Be prepared to defend yourself but never be the aggressor, they will use any excuse they can to crack down.
This all may sound alarmist to you but the phrase “better safe than sorry” strongly applies to situations like these. I know the fascist label gets thrown around a lot, but so far the maga playbook closely mirrors the actions of Germany’s government in 1938. I sincerely hope that I am wrong about all of this but if you don’t prepare, you could lose everything. If you prepare for the worst and nothing happens, you’ve lost nothing.
On the jewelry front, be aware that the ONLY thing that will matter when you sell it is the weight of the gold - the gems are worthless. Historically, diamonds would matter under some circumstances, but this is no longer true even for most diamonds.
Yes, especially since the diamond markets recent collapse.