March 31 (UPI) — With transgender rights under attack in some states, the White House on Thursday recognized Transgender Day of Visibility, meant to celebrate transgender people around the country.
The White House also announced a set of initiatives in support of transgender individuals, in addition to pushing back on some state-led legislation.
“Far too many transgender Americans still face systemic barriers, discrimination, and acts of violence,” the White House said in a statement. “Today, the administration once again condemns the proliferation of dangerous anti-transgender legislative attacks that have been introduced and passed in state legislatures around the country.”
Arizona and Oklahoma this week passed laws banning transgender athletes and Texas passed a directive to investigate parents and healthcare providers giving services to young transgender people.
“The evidence is clear that these types of bills stigmatize and worsen the well-being and mental health of transgender kids, and they put loving and supportive families across the country at risk of discrimination and harassment,” the White House said.
The White House noted a State Department announcement that starting April 11, U.S. citizens will have the option to select an “x” as their gender marker on U.S. passport applications, while the Transportation Security Administration will start using upgraded imaging technology that will reduce the need for invasive pat-downs.
The White House said several new resources will be made available for transgender children and their families, including mental health resources, updating training to support transgender students and improving federal services to accommodate transgender individuals in regards to retirement savings and filing employment discrimination complaints.
“The Biden administration announced new actions to support the mental health of transgender children, remove barriers that transgender people face accessingcritical government services and improve the visibility of transgender people in our nation’s data,” the White House said.
