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"As the first and only out transgender member of Congress, Sarah will be putting herself on the line every day in a way that’s never been done before," writes HRC's Jay Brown.
Over the last year, when transgender people have been leading the news, it’s almost never been because of our successes or accomplishments. Instead, we’ve been the subject of one manufactured crisis after another created by our opposition–running the gamut from Easter to Olympic sports. It’s time to stop taking the bait and fight on our own turf. This week, Democratic U.S. Rep.-elect Sarah McBride of Delaware offered a path forward.
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Of course, there’s nothing new about controversy creating headlines. But what’s driving all of these stories is a coordinated group sowing fear when we are all hungry for solutions. Meanwhile, trans people and our advocates are caught in a seemingly endless cycle of having to respond to blatant discrimination at the same time we build understanding and support.
It’s like we’re trapped on a rollercoaster and behind the curtains, Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is at the controls, wearing her MAGA hat, listening to Ben Shapiro and being paid by Leonard Leo. We’ve got to find a way off and McBride has a way out.
Let’s back up. Earlier this week, Speaker Mike Johnson announced a new policy that will prohibit transgender people from using the appropriate bathroom. Rep. Nancy Mace (whose entire staff walked out on her last term) had been leading the charge, posting 326 times in 72 hours this week about bathrooms — that’s more than 4 times an hour for 3 straight days.
But Sarah didn’t come to Washington to fight about bathrooms. She said as much in her response to the cruel resolution, making clear that her priority is working to address real problems for her constituents and partner with other members in whom voters saw “something they value” to get the job done in Washington.
Across the political spectrum, from AOC to Bill Kristol, there has been overwhelming support for her response. People are praising her for a masterclass in grace she’s exhibited under pressure and speaking out about the harm of these types of rules, which will impact not only Sarah but transgender staffers, interns and visitors to the Capitol. Fourteen states have laws like these on the books, often forcing trans and non-binary students, workers and customers to navigate our days around trying to find safe spaces, denying us the freedom to move about our daily lives in ways many people take for granted.
Sarah knows this, on both a personal level and as an advocate. We worked alongside each other at the Human Rights Campaign in 2016, when we were fighting to overturn the deeply harmful HB2 bathroom bill in North Carolina -- in a fight that ultimately cost then-Gov. Pat McCrory his re-election bid, put Gov. Roy Cooper in the governor’s office, and made an example of anti-LGBTQ lawmaking that helped stave off attacks for several years.
In North Carolina, we did two things. First, we centered transgender people, working with community members in the state to humanize our lives and remind folks that we were their neighbors, classmates and friends. Second, we connected the issue with the economy, making clear that discriminatory policies sent a signal to companies and visitors that North Carolina was unwelcoming and the cost would impact everyone. What we didn’t do is make the whole issue about bathrooms.
Today’s attacks on the transgender community are on a dramatically different scale, as many of us are bracing for not just this first anti-trans policy in the U.S. Capitol, but a flood of anti-LGBTQ+ bills and executive orders in the weeks to come. There are some who believe that Sarah’s response gives anti-equality politicians permission to do more. I offer a different look.
First, the attacks were already coming -- and we must and will fight them. This will take different shapes for different actors and it’s why a diverse ecosystem of activism is critically important. But fighting anti-trans attacks cannot mean attacking our own.
As the first and only out transgender member of Congress, Sarah will be putting herself on the line every day in a way that’s never been done before. She is choosing a path that won’t look like facing an arrest in the Capitol on Day 1 or giving Matt Walsh a viral video. It will look like helping her constituents, lowering the cost of living and doing the hard work to change the dynamics in Washington.
It will look like her fighting for the respect and decency of every human being, of every gender identity. And it will look like refusing to take the bait every time a MAGA politician wants to use her and our community as a pawn to get themselves on TV.
She’s bravely and gracefully making the case that transgender people not only care about the country’s most pressing issues, but can lead on them. This is how we shift the conversation. This is how we win.
Jay Brown is chief of staff at the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality and liberation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
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