During a rally outside the Capitol Building on Monday to honor Transgender Day Of Visibility, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) called for solidarity in the fight for LGBTQ rights.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hey everybody! I'm Pramila Jayapal. I represent the Seattle area in Congress
00:08and I am so proud to be here with you on Trans Day of Visibility to send a
00:16powerful message to Donald Trump and Elon Musk that trans people will not be
00:23erased. Today is a day to say no to the bullying, the transphobia, the violence
00:34that Trump and Musk and others are inflicting on trans people here in
00:39America, indeed around the world, solely so that they can distract you from the
00:44fact that they are trying to scam 4.5 trillion dollars of your hard-earned
00:50money so they can give more tax cuts to the wealthy billionaires. Now I want to
00:57be very clear about something. Grocery prices are going up because of corporate
01:03greed, not because of trans people. Your Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid
01:10are being slashed and burned because of their greed, not because of trans people.
01:16And living wage jobs and affordable housing in America have been destroyed
01:21because of greedy CEOs and private equity companies, not because of trans
01:27people. Now I think that many of you know that this issue is very, very personal to
01:34me. As a mom and as a congressmember, I know that our kids are just kids
01:41regardless of their gender identity. They deserve the chance to be who they fully
01:47are and it absolutely breaks my heart to hear trans person after trans person
01:53coming up to me and saying that they feel like the government, the United
01:58States government, is trying to exterminate them out of existence. So
02:05let's say it loud and clear. Trans people will not be erased. Can you say
02:12that with me? Today is a day to honor and lift up the lives and the legacies of
02:22trans and non-binary people across this country, to recommit ourselves to true
02:28dignity and equality and respect for every single person, and to build our
02:34power to resist. Because make no mistake, I don't want you to be confused about
02:41this, I know you're not, they know we are powerful. Because why, why else would they
02:48go after a group of people that represent less than 1% of all of the
02:54country's population? My theory, it's just a theory, you tell me what you think, is
03:00that they are terrified of what freedom really looks like. They are terrified,
03:10they are terrified that our freedom, our ability to display that freedom, the
03:17liberation of trans people will be a gorgeous example to everyone that we all
03:25deserve freedom. And that tsunami of the power of freedom will cascade around
03:36those who want to imprison us and jail us in our minds and our bodies, but also
03:43in reality as they strip free speech and dissent, strip the very programs that
03:49keep us working and healthy and jail and deport immigrants and terrorize people
03:55into silence. Well, we've got news for them, we won't be silenced, we will fight
04:04for our freedoms and the liberation of every person in America. Let's rally
04:13around our trans community and show our country just how beautiful it is when
04:18trans people, when black, brown and white people, when poor and rich people, when
04:23immigrant and non-immigrant, rural and urban are all able to live dignified,
04:29free lives as their true, authentic selves. Let's link our arms together and
04:39if you want to do that right now with the people next to you, let's link our
04:43arms together and show that our coordinated resistance is stronger than
04:50their hate, that our love is greater than their greed and that our power will
04:56eclipse their cruelty. Let's stand strong, let's link arms and let's say together
05:05trans people will not be erased. We will fight for our freedom with love and
05:11generosity because that is who we are and together we will win.