Republican lawmakers across the country have introduced legislation targeting transgender Americans, including transgender children — a record number of bills, according to the Human Rights Campaign. In response, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and LGBTQ+ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes released the following joint statement:

“The Democratic Party respects and validates transgender people and believes discrimination against them is despicable, contemptible, and counter to the values we hold dear as a nation.

“Over the last decade, the fight for equal rights and protections for LGBTQ people has gained tremendous momentum. From marriage equality to the historic Bostock decision to President Biden’s appointment and the Senate’s confirmation of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine, Democrats and progressives have fought alongside LGBTQ activists to achieve what many, decades ago, believed impossible. But now we’re seeing a dangerous effort to attack the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ community in an attempt to roll back that progress and codify hostility into state laws.

“The rash of legislation targeting transgender people and transgender children is vicious and serves no public purpose. Pediatricians are extremely concerned about the impact these bills have already had on the mental health of their transgender patients. Instead, legislators should focus on the issues that are keeping Americans up at night: issues like the vaccine rollout, getting our economy back on track, the education of our children, and rebuilding our nation’s dilapidated infrastructure.

“Our nation desperately needs the Equality Act and its protections for LGBTQ people, and we call upon Republicans to abandon these attacks on the transgender community and join us in passing this critical legislation.”

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