President Joe Biden honors the Transgender Day of Remembrance in statement denouncing violence

President Joe Biden issued a statement today on the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which said, “There is no place for hate in America and no one should be discriminated against simply for being themselves.”

The statement noted that 26 transgender people in the U.S. were killed this year, a number that comes from HRC and likely an undercount because of underreporting, misreporting, and misgendering in the media.

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Calling the violence “unacceptable,” Biden listed some steps that the administration has taken to reduce it, including increased civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people. He also mentioned the LGBTQI+ Community Safety Partnership, which was announced earlier this year and involves the Department of Homeland Security partnering with local LGBTQ+ organizations and providing safety resources.

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“We must never be silent in the face of hate,” the statement concludes. “As we mourn the loss of transgender Americans taken too soon this year, we must also recommit ourselves to never stop fighting until all Americans can live free from discrimination.”

The statement comes as House Republicans try to attach anti-LGBTQ+ – and particularly anti-transgender – amendments to large spending bills, which follows several years of Republican attacks on transgender equality and hundreds of state-level bills that were introduced and debated to restrict gender-affirming care, ban trans students from participating in school sports, and otherwise make life harder for transgender people.