Following the results of the 2024 election, there will be no shortage of criticism from Democrats. Post-mortem examinations and soul-searching are necessary, but the tone and tenor of the game’s quest to determine who is responsible is starting to take a more sinister turn.
In recent weeks, we have seen increasing calls for Democrats to disengage from political issues that reflect the “identities” of marginalized and vulnerable communities. Few constituencies have escaped blame, but some of the most cynical and vicious scapegoating has been reserved for the transgender community. This is extremely problematic because transgender people are particularly vulnerable. Although the estimated national population is 1.6 million, they make up only half of 1% of the U.S. adult population.
Transgender people face a disproportionate amount of discrimination. More than 500 anti-trans bills were introduced in state legislatures last year. More than $215 million was spent on political ads demonizing transgender people, even though polls show trans-related issues are not a top priority for most voters. And even Congress is forming its own anti-trans brigade to ban the country’s first transgender lawmaker from using the Capitol bathroom.
Trans issues are not peripheral issues. Equality, dignity, and the ability to control one’s own body are interconnected for all of us, but especially for the trans community. It would be a dark day for liberals to overlook the issues of personal agency tied to the struggle for transgender justice.
That’s why on Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, of which I am executive director, will argue a landmark case before the Supreme Court about the constitutional rights of families with transgender children. United States v. Scumetti will decide whether Tennessee violates equal protection by enacting a blanket medical ban that prevents youth, parents, and doctors from making gender-affirming medical decisions It turns out. The court’s decision to take up this case shows that how we treat transgender people in law and society matters to all of us.
The Conservatives’ focus on transgender rights is just the next front in the attack that led to the reversal of Roe v. Wade. There is a line between transgender rights and abortion rights. When the Supreme Court heard Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the justices were deciding whether states could ban life-saving medical procedures, as they had in Scumetti. By targeting one of America’s most vulnerable communities, conservatives hope Americans will shrug and let them do their thing.
The recent retrenchment of the political left and center could set back the cause of transgender equality, and broader equal protections. Experts say we’ve gone too far to the left and need to course-correct. Some may argue that it is politically unwise to bring a case to the Supreme Court regarding transgender rights at this time. But everyone is entitled to civil rights and civil liberties, even if the targeted group does not fare well among likely voters.
As the election post-mortem continues, people should remember that the fight for equality is rarely politically expedient or popular, especially in the first place. As a gay man, I vividly remember hearing from the Democratic establishment that gay equality was a losing proposition in politics. LBGTQ+ people understood that the Defense of Marriage Act “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and California’s Proposition 8 were nothing more than rationalizations and exaggerated bigotry.
Going back even further, the struggle for civil rights and women’s equality was also initially unpopular with the public, especially white men. It is not a new phenomenon that voters in some states passionately resist the extension of federal civil rights to their communities.
For those of us who believe that everyone has the right to live free from discrimination, fighting for transgender rights doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. The next generation has far broader views on LGBTQ+ issues and transgender rights than many of the traditional conservatives in the upper echelons of today’s political parties and organizations. They will remember the organizations and people who showed faith and courage in this moment.
On the other hand, history is unlikely to look kindly on so-called leaders who pursued polls and popularity at the expense of progress and principles. Betting on the future and fighting for transgender equality is not only the right decision, but the easy one.
Anthony D. Romero is the executive director of the ACLU.
