Trans People to Trump: You're Killing Us With Policy

The Human Rights Campaign Monday released its first video in a weekly series highlighting how Donald Trump has failed to keep LGBTQ+ people safe, with the first one focusing on anti-transgender policies and how they contribute to violence.

"Donald Trump has dehumanized trans people. ... Many black trans people are terrified," Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for HRC's Transgender Justice Initiative, says in the video. "This year, there have been more reported cases of violence against trans women, and particularly black trans women. Trump's administration -- they are killing us with policy. I feel like the right leadership would certainly go a long way in changing the minds and hearts of people that don't understand trans folks. The Biden-Harris ticket brings hope that has been gone now for four years."

The Trump administration's anti-trans actions include barring trans people from joining the military, revoking guidance for schools on equal treatment of trans students, using the federal rule-making process to allow for discrimination against trans people in health care, homeless shelters, and other services, and arguing that federal civil rights law against sex discrimination does not cover discrimination based on gender identity -- nor on sexual orientation. Regarding the civil rights law, the Supreme Court disagreed.

This has been a particularly deadly year for transgender Americans; there have been documented homicides of 30 trans people in the U.S. this year. The most in a single year since activists and news media have kept records was 31 in 2017, so 2020 is on track to be the deadliest. And this doesn't count the people who were misgendered in death or whose deaths were not reported at all.

Future videos in the HRC series will focus on Trump's undermining of LGTBQ+ people's health and economic security, and their children's safety.