On the first day of President Trump’s second term in office, he signed an executive order targeting transgender people in the U.S.
It came after a number of campaign promises he made to roll back transgender rights. Now, after a month back in power, Trump has signed a series of executive orders aimed at transgender and nonbinary people, including one that may allow for a ban on transgender service members, and another that calls for the U.S. Education Department to end “radical indoctrination” in schools.
Many of the orders have been challenged with lawsuits, but concerns over the rights and safety of transgender people have spiked, including among the estimated 8,500 transgender youth, and more than 70,000 transgender adults, in North Carolina.
Data show violent rhetoric often has real-world consequences. More than half of homicides against transgender people in 2020 took place in states that attempted to pass anti-transgender legislation, according to NC Health News.
On Tuesday, Mike Collins speaks with a panel of local and national experts to unpack the legislation being pushed by the Trump administration and the state of transgender policy in the U.S.
GUESTS:
Sarah Mikhail, CEO of Time Out Youth
Orion Rummler, LGBTQ+ reporter for The 19th News
Ames Simmons, senior lecturing fellow at Duke University Law School, former policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality and Equality NC
