LINN COUNTY DEMOCRATS
  • HOME
  • May 20 Election
    • Kristopher Schendel, GAPS Zone 1
    • Stephanie Lunceford, GAPS Zone 2
    • Kris McLaughlin, GAPS At-Large Position 2
    • Brad Longman, LBCC Zone 5
    • Bill Hays, ESD Zone 1
    • Michael Thomson, ESD Zone 3
    • Renewal of Albany Ambulance, Fire and Police Local Option Tax
  • News & Updates
    • Letters from Linn Democrats Chair
  • Oregon Legislature
  • About
    • Officers & Committee Chairs
    • Standing Committees
    • Precinct Committee People
    • Neighborhood Leader Program
    • State Central Committee Delegates, Alternates
    • Congressional Districts 4 and 5 Committee Delegates and Alternates
    • Precinct & District Maps >
      • School District, LBCC, ESD Maps
    • Bylaws >
      • Standing Rules
    • Resolutions
    • County Platform >
      • Legislative Action Items
    • State Platform >
      • Legislative Action Items
  • Donate
  • Calendar
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Resistance Resources
  • Contact Us
    • Linktree
  • Archives
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024 >
      • Mayor, Council winners
      • Kamala Harris, Pres. Tim Walz, Vice Pres.
      • Janelle Bynum, CD5
      • Val Hoyle, CD4
      • Tobias Read, Secretary. of State
      • Elizabeth Steiner, State Treasurer
      • Dan Rayfield, Attorney General
      • Mike Ashland, SD9
      • Ivan Maluski, HD11
      • Michelle Emmons, HD12
      • Terrence Virnig, HD 15
      • David W. Beem, HD17
      • David Scranage, Linn Commissioner
      • Michael Thomson, Alb. Council, Ward 1B
      • Carolyn McLeod, Alb. Council, Ward 2B
      • Marilyn Smith, Alb. Council, Ward 3B
      • Ballot Measures
    • Elección 2024 (Espanol) >
      • Kamala Harris, Pres. y Tim Walz, Vicepres.
      • Janelle Bynum, Congreso, Distrito 5
      • Terrence Virnig, Distrito 15 de la Cámara de Representantes
      • Carolyn McLeod, Concejo Municipal de Albany, Distrito 2B
      • Marilyn Smith, Concejo Municipal de Albany, Distrito 3B
  • Resources
    • Resistance Resources

April 07th, 2022

4/7/2022

Comments

 

Transgender Day of Visibility:
​A message from Michelle Risher

Picture
 "On this Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor transgender people who are fighting for freedom, equality, dignity, and respect. We also celebrate the parents, teachers, coaches, doctors, and other allies who affirm the identities of their transgender children and help these young people reach their potential. Transgender people are some of the bravest Americans I know, and our Nation and the world are stronger, more vibrant, and more prosperous because of them. To transgender Americans of all ages, I want you to know that you are so brave. You belong. I have your back."  
– Excerpt from President Joe Biden's Proclamation
on
 Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, 2022

In 2010, trans advocate Rachel Crandall, head of Transgender Michigan, created the Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) to raise awareness about transgender people and draw attention “to the poverty, discrimination, and violence the community faces.”
Every March 31st, the TDOV is a celebration of the lives and contributions of a wonderful tapestry of trans lives, having so much to offer, but far-too-often victimized, with unrealized, untapped potential, wasted in lives of not-so-quiet desperation, lived largely internally in fear and violence.
Beginning with Trump’s attack on transgender patriots serving or wanting to serve in our military, Republicans have launched a ceaseless assault on transgender, nonbinary, and intersex lives since 2016. And since their defeats in November of 2020, they have stepped up their unfounded and hateful legal and rhetorical attacks.
By May 7of last year, a Human Rights Campaign press release stated that officially, 2021 was the worst year in recent history, breaking 2015’s record, with laws passed:
•    Making it a felony to provide transgender youth with life-saving health care;
•    Banning transgender girls from participating in sports;
•    Erasing LGBTQ people from school curriculum; and,
•    Granting broad licenses to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

These Republican efforts have targeted the trans community across the country. Recently, and most frighteningly, a former Mississippi Republican representative and author of the state’s death penalty law, tweeted the transgender individuals and their supporters “…need to be lined up against [a] wall before a firing squad to be sent to an early judgment.”
All of this under the pretense of ‘religious freedom”, attempting to legitimize an anti-evidence/anti-science mindset with the terrifying goal of criminalizing and eradicating all trans, gender nonconforming, or intersex human beings on a global basis.
I know first-hand—and all-too-well—what living a bifurcated life, in fear of discovery, does not only to all whose gender is determined solely upon a purely physical, unscientific cursory examination. Also, the collateral damage wreaked upon our circle of family, friends, and lovers or spouses.
These are the learned truths of a 68-year-old trans woman with disabilities. It has everything to do with living a life as someone other than myself, and unless we pass the Equality Act, we will be condemning generations of trans siblings to a similar fate.
On this Transgender Day of Visibility, I am asking that trans Democrats step forward and achieve far more than I ever will, ensuring that not only are we visible, but we are fully equal, making the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness a reality.
In solidarity,

Michelle Risher
​
Oregon Delegate to the Democratic National Committee
Former Chair, Democratic Party Oregon of Stonewall Caucus

Stonewall Caucus Website
JOIN THE STONEWALL CAUCUS
Donate to the Stonewall Caucus
Comments

    News & Updates

    Look here for news, commentary and updates from Linn Dems and ally organizations

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • HOME
  • May 20 Election
    • Kristopher Schendel, GAPS Zone 1
    • Stephanie Lunceford, GAPS Zone 2
    • Kris McLaughlin, GAPS At-Large Position 2
    • Brad Longman, LBCC Zone 5
    • Bill Hays, ESD Zone 1
    • Michael Thomson, ESD Zone 3
    • Renewal of Albany Ambulance, Fire and Police Local Option Tax
  • News & Updates
    • Letters from Linn Democrats Chair
  • Oregon Legislature
  • About
    • Officers & Committee Chairs
    • Standing Committees
    • Precinct Committee People
    • Neighborhood Leader Program
    • State Central Committee Delegates, Alternates
    • Congressional Districts 4 and 5 Committee Delegates and Alternates
    • Precinct & District Maps >
      • School District, LBCC, ESD Maps
    • Bylaws >
      • Standing Rules
    • Resolutions
    • County Platform >
      • Legislative Action Items
    • State Platform >
      • Legislative Action Items
  • Donate
  • Calendar
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Resistance Resources
  • Contact Us
    • Linktree
  • Archives
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024 >
      • Mayor, Council winners
      • Kamala Harris, Pres. Tim Walz, Vice Pres.
      • Janelle Bynum, CD5
      • Val Hoyle, CD4
      • Tobias Read, Secretary. of State
      • Elizabeth Steiner, State Treasurer
      • Dan Rayfield, Attorney General
      • Mike Ashland, SD9
      • Ivan Maluski, HD11
      • Michelle Emmons, HD12
      • Terrence Virnig, HD 15
      • David W. Beem, HD17
      • David Scranage, Linn Commissioner
      • Michael Thomson, Alb. Council, Ward 1B
      • Carolyn McLeod, Alb. Council, Ward 2B
      • Marilyn Smith, Alb. Council, Ward 3B
      • Ballot Measures
    • Elección 2024 (Espanol) >
      • Kamala Harris, Pres. y Tim Walz, Vicepres.
      • Janelle Bynum, Congreso, Distrito 5
      • Terrence Virnig, Distrito 15 de la Cámara de Representantes
      • Carolyn McLeod, Concejo Municipal de Albany, Distrito 2B
      • Marilyn Smith, Concejo Municipal de Albany, Distrito 3B
  • Resources
    • Resistance Resources