Latest news with #TransUpFrontIllinois
Miami Herald
22-06-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Chicago trans and LGBTQ+ community take to streets to protest gender-affirming care ban
CHICAGO - Jey McCreight underwent hormone replacement therapy and top surgery in their mid-30s to transition into a transmasculine person. They said the medical treatment helped them "live life to the fullest." "It was like my depression was magically cured after struggling with it my entire life - going to therapy, being on other medications," they said. "Gender-affirming care is what made me happy." When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors on Wednesday, McCreight said they were unsurprised, but sad and angry nonetheless. McCreight, 37, joined about 200 others who braved the Saturday afternoon heat to protest the court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti. Demonstrators started the 12:30 p.m. rally in Federal Plaza in the Loop to the tunes of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" and Nipsey Hussle's "FDT" from loudspeakers. Under the blistering sun, protesters demanded equal rights for trans and gender-nonconforming people. They pointed to the importance of gender-affirming care in helping trans youth who face higher rates of mental health issues, including depression and suicide. "We need to show up for our youth," said Asher McMaher, executive director of Trans Up Front Illinois and one of the protest's organizers. "Because they deserve to be the incredible human beings that they're meant to be, and we need every single one of them to grow up." Advocates blasted the court's decision in the Skrmetti case, where families and a doctor challenged Tennessee's ban on puberty blockers and hormones to help minors transition. They argued the law deprived them of their constitutional right to equal protection under the law, but the state contended it was necessary to protect children. For Keerthi Nan, a trans Chicago schoolteacher, the decision "further dehumanized" young trans and gender-diverse people. "It sucks to be a trans adult right now," Nan told the crowd. "But it is so much harder, so much scarier, to be a trans kid, a trans adolescent in this moment." Nan added that though Illinois and Chicago appear to be safe places for trans youth, they still hear Chicago Public School students calling their peers slurs for gay and trans people. They called on protesters to raise continued attention for trans rights. "Show up to the school board meeting," she said. "Show up when people aren't watching. Fight like our students' futures depend on it because they do." State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Democrat and the only openly lesbian member of the Illinois House, also called for more action from the broader LGBTQ+ community. She said not only were trans rights and abortion rights at risk - other liberties for LGBTQ+ people could also be in danger. "You don't get to take your wedding cake and go home, boys," Kelly said. "They are not just coming for trans kids." At the rally, the parents of trans children stressed the importance of accepting their kids for their identities. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who has two children who have received gender-affirming care, said letting his kids lead their treatment in consultation with medical professionals wasn't "hard" nor "emotionally complicated." "At no moment in that process did it make a bit of sense for a politician to insert themselves," he said. After speeches from trans and LGBTQ+ rights' advocates and local politicians, protesters marched for about a half hour, circling downtown, from Dearborn Street to Michigan Avenue and Adams Street to Washington Street. The crowd chanted slogans including "Health care is a human right" and "Trans rights are human rights" for about half an hour as it moved. Onlookers on the sidewalks stopped to cheer, clap and record the march. McCreight said they felt "reinvigorated" by the event. "You're seeing your rights being stripped away and wondering, 'Am I going to lose access to my health care next as an adult, the thing that I know has literally saved my life?'" they said. "But I come out here and I know that people aren't going to give up, and honestly, I feel like we're going to eventually win." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Chicago Tribune
21-06-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Trans and LGBTQ+ community take to streets to protest gender-affirming care ban
Jey McCreight underwent hormone replacement therapy and top surgery in their mid-30s to transition into a transmasculine person. They said the medical treatment helped them 'live life to the fullest.' 'It was like my depression was magically cured after struggling with it my entire life — going to therapy, being on other medications,' they said. 'Gender-affirming care is what made me happy.' When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors on Wednesday, McCreight said they were unsurprised, but sad and angry nonetheless. McCreight, 37, joined about 200 others who braved the Saturday afternoon heat to protest the court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti. Demonstrators started the 12:30 p.m. rally in Federal Plaza in the Loop to the tunes of Chappell Roan's 'Pink Pony Club' and Nipsey Hussle's 'FDT' from loudspeakers. Under the blistering sun, protesters demanded equal rights for trans and gender-nonconforming people. They pointed to the importance of gender-affirming care in helping trans youth who face higher rates of mental health issues, including depression and suicide. 'We need to show up for our youth,' said Asher McMaher, executive director of Trans Up Front Illinois and one of the protest's organizers. 'Because they deserve to be the incredible human beings that they're meant to be, and we need every single one of them to grow up.' Advocates blasted the court's decision in the Skrmetti case, where families and a doctor challenged Tennessee's ban on puberty blockers and hormones to help minors transition. They argued the law deprived them of their constitutional right to equal protection under the law, but the state contended it was necessary to protect children. For Keerthi Nan, a trans Chicago schoolteacher, the decision 'further dehumanized' young trans and gender-diverse people. 'It sucks to be a trans adult right now,' Nan told the crowd. 'But it is so much harder, so much scarier, to be a trans kid, a trans adolescent in this moment.' Nan added that though Illinois and Chicago appear to be safe places for trans youth, they still hear Chicago Public School students calling their peers slurs for gay and trans people. They called on protesters to raise continued attention for trans rights. 'Show up to the school board meeting,' she said. 'Show up when people aren't watching. Fight like our students' futures depend on it because they do.' State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, the only openly lesbian member of the Illinois House, also called for more action from the broader LGBTQ+ community. She said not only were trans rights and abortion rights at risk — other liberties for LGBTQ+ people could also be in danger. 'You don't get to take your wedding cake and go home, boys,' Kelly said. 'They are not just coming for trans kids.' At the rally, the parents of trans children stressed the importance of accepting their kids for their identities. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who has two children who have received gender-affirming care, said letting his kids lead their treatment in consultation with medical professionals wasn't 'hard' nor 'emotionally complicated.' 'At no moment in that process did it make a bit of sense for a politician to insert themselves,' he said. After speeches from trans and LGBTQ+ rights' advocates and local politicians, protesters marched for about a half hour, circling downtown, from Dearborn Street to Michigan Avenue and Adams Street to Washington Street. The crowd chanted slogans including 'Health care is a human right' and 'Trans rights are human rights' for about half an hour as it moved. Onlookers on the sidewalks stopped to cheer, clap and record the march. McCreight said they felt 'reinvigorated' by the event. 'You're seeing your rights being stripped away and wondering, 'Am I going to lose access to my health care next as an adult, the thing that I know has literally saved my life?'' they said. 'But I come out here and I know that people aren't going to give up, and honestly, I feel like we're going to eventually win.'
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nearly 1,000 people demonstrate in Chicago to show support for transgender people amid attacks
Christy Cox, 58, says she has been fighting for the rights of transgender people like herself for decades. 'I'm here to really show that queer elders do exist, so that 8-year-old kid over there can see that you can grow up and be a 58-year-old trans person,' Cox said. The Naperville resident, who joined close to 1,000 people Sunday at a transgender rights protest in Federal Plaza, held a sign that read 'survive out of spite.' Cox said this kind of visibility is something she wishes she'd had growing up. Even with attacks on transgender rights from the Trump administration, seeing transgender youths show up with their parents at the afternoon protest gave her hope. The protest, led by the advocacy group Trans Up Front Illinois in partnership with Indivisible Chicago, took place the day before Trans Day of Visibility, which is recognized by LGBTQ+ advocates Monday. Trans Up Front Illinois organized another protest in February outside Lurie Children's Hospital when the hospital announced it would no longer provide gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, he has signed numerous executive orders targeting transgender people, including a ban that prevents transgender athletes from participating in women and girls' sports, an order that forces transgender women in federal prisons to be housed with men and a restriction on the ability of transgender, nonbinary and intersex people to change their gender markers on passports or to serve in the military. At Sunday's protest, attendees displayed a range of emotions, from anger due to the Trump administration's attacks, to joy because of the sheer number of people who showed up to publicly support transgender people. 'We are a resilient people. Don't you dare tell them we don't belong,' Precious Brady-Davis, a commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and the first Black transgender woman to be an elected official in Cook County, said to the crowd. 'We belong in every (sector) of society, from the boardroom to the bathroom. Quit playing with us. Our lives matter and we deserve to be treated with respect and decency.' The actions of the current administration against trans people hit home not just for individuals, but organizations supporting transgender people in Illinois, with some organizations put into jeopardy as the Trump administration cracks down on funding for LGBTQ+ organizations. 'As many of you know, Trans Chicago staff were laid off,' Tichike Tumalan, program coordinator for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center's Trans Chicago Empowerment Center, said to the crowd. 'Our (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) funding was temporarily cut, and even though some of us were rehired, there's still that instability of whether or not we'll lose these grants again tomorrow.' While the protest focused on transgender rights, the event was endorsed by organizations advocating for other issues, including neighborhood groups, an abortion rights group and a cannabis rights group. 'You are on the people's menu, and on this menu, every single one of us here will be served a course of injustice,' Channyn Parker, CEO of Brave Space Alliance, said to the crowd while holding up a menu. 'We are all under attack. We are all on the people's menu.' Once all the speakers had finished, and just as it started to rain downtown, the crowd marched from Federal Plaza to Trump Tower. ____
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nearly 1,000 people pour into Federal Plaza to show support for transgender people amid attacks
Christy Cox, 58, says she has been fighting for the rights of transgender people like herself for decades. 'I'm here to really show that queer elders do exist, so that 8-year-old kid over there can see that you can grow up and be a 58-year-old trans person,' Cox said. The Naperville resident, who joined close to 1,000 people Sunday at a transgender rights protest in Federal Plaza, held a sign that read 'survive out of spite.' Cox said this kind of visibility is something she wishes she'd had growing up. Even with attacks on transgender rights from the Trump administration, seeing transgender youths show up with their parents at the afternoon protest gave her hope. The protest, led by the advocacy group Trans Up Front Illinois in partnership with Indivisible Chicago, took place the day before Trans Day of Visibility, which is recognized by LGBTQ+ advocates Monday. Trans Up Front Illinois organized another protest in February outside Lurie Children's Hospital when the hospital announced it would no longer provide gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, he has signed numerous executive orders targeting transgender people, including a ban that prevents transgender athletes from participating in women and girls' sports, an order that forces transgender women in federal prisons to be housed with men and a restriction on the ability of transgender, nonbinary and intersex people to change their gender markers on passports or to serve in the military. At Sunday's protest, attendees displayed a range of emotions, from anger due to the Trump administration's attacks, to joy because of the sheer number of people who showed up to publicly support transgender people. 'We are a resilient people. Don't you dare tell them we don't belong,' Precious Brady-Davis, a commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and the first Black transgender woman to be an elected official in Cook County, said to the crowd. 'We belong in every (sector) of society, from the boardroom to the bathroom. Quit playing with us. Our lives matter and we deserve to be treated with respect and decency.' The actions of the current administration against trans people hit home not just for individuals, but organizations supporting transgender people in Illinois, with some organizations put into jeopardy as the Trump administration cracks down on funding for LGBTQ+ organizations. 'As many of you know, Trans Chicago staff were laid off,' Tichike Tumalan, program coordinator for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center's Trans Chicago Empowerment Center, said to the crowd. 'Our (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) funding was temporarily cut, and even though some of us were rehired, there's still that instability of whether or not we'll lose these grants again tomorrow.' While the protest focused on transgender rights, the event was endorsed by organizations advocating for other issues, including neighborhood groups, an abortion rights group and a cannabis rights group. 'You are on the people's menu, and on this menu, every single one of us here will be served a course of injustice,' Channyn Parker, CEO of Brave Space Alliance, said to the crowd while holding up a menu. 'We are all under attack. We are all on the people's menu.' Once all the speakers had finished, and just as it started to rain downtown, the crowd marched from Federal Plaza to Trump Tower.
Chicago Tribune
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Photos: Transgender rights rally held in Chicago
A large crowd, led by the advocacy group Trans Up Front Illinois in support of transgender people, rallied at Federal Plaza on March 30, 2025. Sunday's protest took place a day before Trans Day of Visibility.
