Why We Need to Support the Trans Community

By Amy Klco

Hello. My name is Amy Klco, and I have been a public school teacher for over twenty years, as well as the parent of two LBGT+ children. And today, I want to talk about how, in addition to everything else that is going on, the current Republican administration is attacking our most vulnerable youth. 

 Right now, the Republican party is attacking many groups, including immigrants and the poor (and make no mistake, tariffs and cuts to government programs are a direct attack on the poor.) But one of the most hideous of these attacks is on trans people. 

 What makes these attacks so monstrous? 

 To attack the trans community is to attack a very small, very vulnerable group of people. There is, as far as we know, only about one-half of a percent of people in this country that are transgender. It is a small group that hasstruggled throughout our country’s history. And choosing this group to focus attention on shows exactly what this administration IS and what they are doing: they are bullies who are picking on those that are least able to defend themselves. 

 And not only that, but these policies are specifically targeting those in the trans community that are the most at risk: inmates (all trans woman in federal prisons have been ordered to be moved to men’s prisons) and trans youth, by banning federal funding for gender-affirming care for those under 19. 

 And this is what breaks my heart the most. As I said, I have worked as a teacher for over 20 years. During that time, I’ve been privileged to have many students come out to me, sharing that they are gay or trans. Some of them have had supportive parents to help them. But many of them didn’t even have that support. For many, their confession to me was the first time that they felt safe enough to tell an adult what they were going through. They feared telling their own parents, and, honestly, that often have good reasons for their fears.

 Let’s look at some statistics for 2023:

• LBGT+ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness.

• Although they make up only 7% of the youth in the US, 40% of all young homeless people are LBGT+.

• And 46% of those were forced to leave their home because they came out. They were kicked out of their homes for telling their truth!

 In addition:​

41% of LBGT+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including roughly half of all transgender and nonbinary youth. HALF of all trans youth have considered killing themselves!

And let’s be clear: they are not suicidal because they are gay or trans; they are suicidal because to the way our society treats those who are gay or trans.

And this, THIS is the population that our current administration has decided to target?

 We can’t stand by and watch these young people, who already have so much to deal with, be further attacked. 

 And trust me, this is only the beginning!

 There is a poem written by Martin Niemöller in 1946. Perhaps you’ve heard it before, but I’m going to share it now.

 First, they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.

There is a revision to that poem that has been circulating social media: 

 “First, they came for the transgender community,
And I spoke out immediately
Because I’ve read the rest of the 
The fucking poem.”

We need to speak for our trans and LBGT+ youth now, or there may come a time when there is no one left to speak out for us.

As Marsha P. Johnson said, “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us!!!” Or, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” It is time for us to fight for what is right, for the rights of ALL!