Mar 31, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Biden issues first-ever presidential proclamation for Trans Day of Visibility

Orion Rummler

Joe Biden stands in front of an American flag and Kamala Harris — President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on March 29. Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

President Biden issued a statement to formally celebrate Wednesday as Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), an international day first marked in 2009 as a way to commemorate trans lives and accomplishments.

Why it matters: Biden is the first sitting U.S. president to issue a proclamation in observance of the day. It comes as a record number of state legislatures — predominately led by Republicans — introduce bills to regulate how trans youth play sports and receive gender-affirming healthcare.

What he's saying: Biden stressed that the Equality Act must be passed in the Senate to provide better federal protections for transgender people, as the bill would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.

He said that "hard-fought progress" to create equality for transgender and gender non-conforming people has shaped "an increasingly accepting world in which peers at school, teammates and coaches on the playing field, colleagues at work, and allies in every corner of society are standing in support and solidarity with the transgender community."

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Biden issues first-ever presidential proclamation for Trans Day of Visibility

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