Hundreds of protesters gathered in New York City’s Washington Square Park on Sunday night, angrily reacting to reports that the Trump administration is considering a narrower legal definition of gender.
The move would be tantamount to the government’s declaring there’s no such thing as “transgender” and would effectively exclude transgender and nonbinary people from basic civil rights protections currently guaranteed by federal law.
Understandably, LGBTQ advocacy groups like the National Center for Transgender Equality, Lambda Legal and GLAAD responded with force.
A Sunday night protest in New York, hastily organized after The New York Times first reported the proposed change, drew strong turnout. A follow-up demonstration at the White House at 12:30 p.m. Monday has inspired a forceful response as well, with as many as 2,000 people on social media showing interest in attending, united under the hashtag #WeWontBeErased.
“I am livid but clear-headed,” NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling said Monday before the White House protest. “We will be here long after this administration is in the trash heap.”
See photos from the protests below:
This story has been updated with photos from the protest outside the White House.