Why this year’s DNC avoided trans rights and what it means for 2024 election
Transgender people and issues were mentioned by only two speakers during the convention’s main programming slate.
At the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Rep. Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., was met with thunderous applause as he proudly introduced transgender advocate Sarah McBride.
“She is right now the first trans person ever to address a national convention,” Maloney boasted. “It’s about time.” McBride would go on to become a Delaware state senator, and she’s now poised to be the first transgender member of Congress.
Four years later, Virginia delegate Danica Roem — the first openly transgender person to be seated in a state Legislature — made a groundbreaking appearance during the virtual DNC in 2020.
But at this year’s Democratic convention in Chicago, trans people were notably absent from the stage. While LGBTQ rights broadly and same-sex marriage specifically were referenced several times, transgender people appeared to be mentioned by just two speakers across 20 hours of the convention’s “main programming” slate, and neither speaker, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., nor Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson had a prime-time speaking slot.
To some trans Americans, the omission did not go unnoticed.
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