March 31 marked the "Transgender Day of Visibility," which the Biden administration celebrated rather enthusiastically. For the White House, and others, there seemed to be a particular focus on "trans kids" and "trans youth," which includes minors who are not legally enough to consent to what the processes of being transgender really entails, such as genital mutilation.
When it comes to the virtue-signaling of tweets and statements, Democrats went all out.
The White House released a fact sheet touting the "Biden-Harris Administration Advances Equality and Visibility for Transgender Americans" on Thursday, and a lengthy proclamation from President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
The fact sheet referenced many of the same points Madeline and Katie's reporting did in their coverage of the day, which is that the TSA is "Implementing enhanced screening technology," and also resources for "youth seek gender-affirming care."
Both the fact sheet and the statement mention "kids" and "students" a considerable amount of time.
Here are just some excerpts from the fact sheet:
...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. 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. As the President has said, these bills are government overreach at its worst, they are un-American, and they must stop.
...
Reinforcing federal protections for transgender kids. The Justice Department announced today that it has issued a letter to all state attorneys general reminding them of federal constitutional and statutory provisions that protect transgender youth against discrimination, including when those youth seek gender-affirming care.
...
Providing resources for transgender kids and their families. Transgender children are put at higher risk of attempted suicide or mental health challenges when they face bullying, rejection, or denial of health care. The Biden Administration is releasing several new resources to help transgender children and their parents thrive:
- Providing mental health resources for transgender youth. In recent months, multiple states have removed critical information about mental health resources for LGBTQI+ youth from official state websites. Transgender youth often face significant barriers in accessing supportive resources, and are at greater risk of attempted suicide. In response, the Department of Health and Human Services released a new website that offers resources for transgender and LGBTQI+ youth, their parents, and providers. These resources include best practices for affirming an LGBTQI+ child, and information about suicide prevention services.
- Expanding trainings to support transgender and nonbinary students in schools. The Office of Safe and Supportive Schools in the Department of Education will offer new training for schools with experts and school leaders who will discuss the challenges faced by many transgender and nonbinary students and strategies and actions for providing support.
- Confirming the positive impact of gender affirming care on youth mental health. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has posted LGBTQI+ Youth – Like All Americans, They Deserve Evidence-Based Care, in which Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA, shares how to engage LGBTQI+ youth, the evidence behind the positive effects of gender affirming care, and available resources for LGBTQI+ youth, their families, providers, community organizations, and government agencies.
- Confirming that gender-affirming care is trauma-informed care. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), which is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is releasing new information for providers confirming that providing gender-affirming care is neither child maltreatment nor malpractice.
- Providing resources on the importance of gender affirming care for children and adolescents. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health has developed a resource to inform parents and guardians, educators, and other persons supporting children and adolescents with information on what is gender-affirming care and why it is important to transgender, nonbinary, and other gender expansive young people’s well-being.
...
- Reaffirming that transgender children have the right to access gender-affirming health care. In March, following state actions that aim to target parents and doctors who provide gender-affirming care to transgender children with child abuse investigations, the Department of Health and Human Services took multiple actions to support transgender children in receiving the care they need and promised to use every tool available to protect LGTBQI+ children and support their families.
From the Proclamation:
In the past year, hundreds of anti-transgender bills in States were proposed across America, most of them targeting transgender kids. The onslaught has continued this year. These bills are wrong. Efforts to criminalize supportive medical care for transgender kids, to ban transgender children from playing sports, and to outlaw discussing LGBTQI+ people in schools undermine their humanity and corrode our Nation’s values. Studies have shown that these political attacks are damaging to the mental health and well-being of transgender youth, putting children and their families at greater risk of bullying and discrimination.
The White House also held an event last June featuring transgender youth, where Biden ranted against how so-called "anti-LGBTQ bills" were "some of the ugliest, most un-American laws I’ve seen."
On Twitter, Biden's official account tweeted about the date, tagging the official accounts of First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff. The official account also tweeted out a video message. Vice President Harris' official account tweeted about the date. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tweeted out that, among other things, "Trans rights are human rights."
The statement from DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and DNC LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes emailed another lengthy statement, which also mentions minors.
"Republicans across the country continue to use their power in state and local government to target trans children and make life more difficult for these vulnerable kids and their families. Last year alone, we saw more than 100 anti-trans bills introduced across the country — many of them targeting kids," it in part read.
The RNC took note of the celebration as well. "Biden’s celebration of the far-left’s radical gender ideology is no surprise coming from a White House that went woke on day one. From trying to destroy women’s sports to teaching toddlers about sexual identity, ‘extreme’ doesn’t even begin to describe the Democrat Party in 2022. Biden and Democrats will discover just how out of touch they are when Americans reject their radical agenda this November," said Andrew Brennan, the RNC Director of Faith Communications
In wanting to let everyone know "It's International Transgender Day of Visibility," Twitter shared a "Trans Youth Town Hall" video.
"Beto" was trending on Thursday in reaction to a tweet of Beto O'Rourke wearing a shirt that said "Don't mess with trans kids." Our friends at Twitchy took notice as well. The former representative is running for higher office yet again, to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott in November, after already losing to Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate race and running in the crowded Democratic presidential primary for 2020.
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 31, 2022
Less than 1 percent of the U.S. population is transgender, as Matt highlighted in a write-up of a YouGov poll earlier this month.
