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President Biden on Saturday mourned the loss of transgender Americans to violence and called on leaders and lawmakers to push back against a “disturbing proliferation of discriminatory state legislation.”
“This year, at least 46 transgender individuals in this country — and hundreds more around the world — were killed in horrifying acts of violence,” Biden said in a statement honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance. “Each of these lives was precious. Each of them deserved freedom, justice, and joy.”
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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“We mourn those we lost in the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans, as well as the countless other transgender people — disproportionately Black and brown transgender women and girls — who face brutal violence, discrimination, and harassment,” the president added.
Biden also said he has tasked members of his administration to work with “federal government to address the epidemic of violence and advance equality” for transgender people who “live in fear and face systemic barriers to freedom and equality.”
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Discussing what he believes to be “discriminatory” state legislation against transgender people, specifically transgender youth, Biden concluded that the bills “endanger the safety and well-being of our children.”
“I continue to call on state leaders and lawmakers to combat the disturbing proliferation of discriminatory state legislation targeting transgender people, especially transgender children,” Biden said. “As I have said before, these bills are nothing more than bullying disguised as legislation.”
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Biden said “transgender people are some of the bravest Americans” he knows.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a statement remembering those who “have suffered unthinkable violence or have been brutally murdered simply for who they are.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“This year in particular, our transgender neighbors and loved ones have endured a heartbreaking and accelerating campaign of violence and persecution: children targeted by a tide of hateful legislation, women of color suffering a spike of horrific attacks,” Pelosi stated. “Proudly, Democrats have long stood shoulder to shoulder with LGBTQ activists to advance the cause of full equality for all.”
