LGBTQ+ community members and allies united with their trans siblings in fighting for their human rights at San Jose’s City Hall on Trans Day of Visibility. Silicon Valley Pride hosted the community event on Friday to demand queer and trans youth autonomy.
Silicon Valley Pride is an organization in the Bay Area which focuses on celebrating and supporting the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, according to its website.
Outside of City Hall, members of the community and their allies formed a wall of signs to show their support as they chanted “we will not be erased.”
Sera Fernando, Silicon Valley Pride chief diversity officer, said she wanted to uplift voices in the community.
“[We wanted to] show that we have our story to tell as well,” she said.
Fernando, who identifies as a trans Filipino woman, said the event is a part of a national movement from the Queer Youth Assembly.
The Queer Youth Assembly is a nonprofit that serves LGBTQ+ youth under the age of 25 in the U.S., according to its webpage.
As she spoke in front of the crowd, Fernando said the goal of this movement is to promote four specific demands.
Fernando said the first demand is to have sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression codified or solidified as part of Title IX.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits people from being discriminated against on the “basis of gender,” preventing them from being able to participate in educational or career opportunities, according to the U.S. Department of Justice website
On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court made a decision to clarify Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status, according to the same source.
Title VII is a federal employment law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national orientation, according to Cornell Law School’s website.
However, the U.S. Department of Justice states Title VII and Title IX are two distinct statutes or two different laws.
Fernando said the issue is that Title IX doesn’t identify sexual orientation or gender identity.
She said this creates an issue where states can create laws or bills that define LGTBQ+ inclusion or what it means how to define sexual orientation, creating a space to develop bills that discriminate against the trans community.
“What we want to do is make sure that, like, if it's a nationwide legislative effort, then that will not allow states to have these anti-LGBTQ bills,” Fernando said. “That's a one point of view, federal protection, not just statewide protections.”
She said their second demand is to have stronger safe school programs to protect trangender youth and transgender curriculum.
This includes the Safe Schools for Safe Learning Act of 2013, a bill meant to protect children from gang violence, gun violence, school shootings and more, according to the the California Department of Education website.
“We're not just talking about one day a year where you take diversity, equity and inclusion training, and you check it off the box and you're done for the year,” Fernando said. “No, no, no, honey. We're talking about allyship.”
She said this includes making sure educators also educate parents about transgender issues by including curriculum about the LGBTQ+ community without the option for students to opt-out.
“I’m looking at every single parent, you are responsible for making sure that LGBTQ+ youth are protected, and they feel safe,” Fernando said.
Fernando said the third demand is to have government bodies give LGBTQ+ community members “a seat at the table” when legislation that affects them is created.
She said no decisions should be made on these types of legislation without input from the LGBTQ+ community.
Fernando said the fourth demand is to have no hate against the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s not about hate, it’s about showing love,” she said. “It’s about amplifying each other.”
Fernando said the news has been misinterpreting recent issues related to the trans community and gun control.
On Mar. 27, six individuals were shot and killed at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee by a trans woman, according to a livestream of a Metropolitan Nashville Police Department police briefing.
Fernando said some media outlets are missing the main issue.
“Making one trans person be made out [as] something . . . is more like a spin on the news, whereas, like, the issues not being translated [is] who is having access to guns,” she said.
Tori Tia, a drag queen in San Jose who identifies as gay, nonbinary and gender fluid, said they thought it was important to share their thoughts as a speaker for the event.
“Drag queens and transgender people are not monsters that they’re painting us to be,” they said. “We are just regular people.”
Tori Tia said six to seven months ago, protesters interrupted their drag storytime at a Silicon Valley Pride event.
They said they were reading a story to children at the time.
“We should not be seen as threats to children,” Tori Tia said.
They said they do drag story time to raise awareness and ensure to parents and children that the drag and LGBTQ+ community are friendly.
“We want to be respected and seen,” Tori Tia said.
Steven Alvarado, who identifies as agender and prefers to use ne/nem/nir pronouns, said ne agrees that the situation is dire for the trans community.
Alvarado said ne doesn’t believe the community should be relying on politicians for change.
“I’m surprised that a lot of people are, like, ‘We need to get these laws passed. We need to do this and that,’ ” ne said.
Alvarado identifies as an anarchist or someone who is anti-hierarchy.
Ne said ne believes in the opposite of hierarchy which ne defines as someone, such as politicians, arbitrarily having power over another person.
Ne said ne doesn’t believe the LGTBQ+ community should rely on politicians to rescind laws.
Alvarado said this because the government is partially responsible for creating the current environment of discrimination against the trans community at the moment.
Instead, Alvarado said the community should focus on coming together and relying on each other.
“I think we can only solve this problem once we come together as a community and try to figure it out together,” Alvarado said.
