This June, we showed up all month proudly honoring queer resistance and joy.
We celebrated the freedom to be who you are and the power to love who you love alongside thousands of community members at Jersey Pride, Montclair Pride, and North Jersey Pride.
We also hosted Pride Is Still Protest, a dance party in celebration of 65 years of the ACLU of New Jersey. The night was filled with community, music, dancing, drag, and so much more.
Even though these spaces importantly demonstrated the power of Pride, this June we also faced more challenges from those who are determined to limit the rights of the trans community.
The Supreme Court issued its ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a challenge brought by three transgender adolescents, their families, and their medical providers against a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for trans people under 18.
The ACLU argued that Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming hormone therapies for transgender youth is a clear example of discrimination on the basis of sex and transgender status, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
But in its opinion, the court backed the ruling by the Sixth Circuit, which in turn upheld the Tennessee law.
The court’s ruling is a devastating loss for transgender people, their families, and everyone who cares about the Constitution. Though this is a painful setback, transgender people and our allies still have options to defend our freedom, our health care, and our lives.
But the bigger picture is staggering.
Since 2021, 25 states have enacted categorical bans on gender-affirming medical care, such as hormone therapy and puberty-suppressant medications, for treating gender dysphoria in transgender youth while readily allowing those same medications to be used in treating cisgender youth.
Today, over 100,000 trans people under 18 live in a state with a ban on their health care.
For generations, trans people have faced attempts to erase them from public life – and history has shown that every one of these attempts has failed.
As the Trump administration continues to target trans people and the broader LGBTQ+ community, it is as important now as ever before that we continue to fight back, speak up, and boldly declare that we all have the freedom to be.
The ACLU-NJ is proud to work to ensure that everyone of every identity can live with dignity and free from discrimination, harassment, or violence. Everyone deserves the ability to shape their own future and decide what’s right for their lives.
Pride is still power. Pride is still protest. Pride is not going anywhere.
