Dana Simpson

Because the future of trans rights hangs in the balance

Transgender Americans want what everyone wants: to live our lives as our authentic selves.

I transitioned twenty years ago, and since then, trans Americans have gone from a barely noticed fringe, to the center of the “culture war.” We didn’t ask to be, only to be left alone to pursue happiness. Democrats support us in this. Republicans seek to erase our rights, and even our existence.

The Republicans’ stated goal is to eradicate trans people from public life. Trump, as president, banned us from the military, reversed Obama-era federal guidelines for trans kids in schools, and more.

A second Trump term would be much worse. Project 2025 calls for trans existence to be defined as “pornography” and outlawed. It would make transgender health care illegal and do all it could to make our lives unlivable.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz believe in dignity for trans people. The Biden-Harris administration has worked to undo Trump’s anti-trans policies and battled Republican states in court. As governor, Walz made Minnesota a sanctuary state for trans people and their families fleeing red-state oppression.

Trans Americans have come far, but if we’ve learned one thing in recent years, it’s that gains are fragile, rights can be taken, and it matters who’s making the decisions.

All the progress made by trans people has happened under Democrats. Republicans, in every state they control, have sought not only to roll back gains, but to make trans lives impossible. They use the government to try to erase us.

A Harris-Walz administration will mean we can live securely in the knowledge that at least those at the top aren’t going to come for our right to exist. A Trump-Vance administration would set us back decades.

Every trans person I know is terrified of that outcome.

That’s why I’m supporting Harris for president.

Dana Simpson makes the comic strip and best-selling graphic novel series Phoebe and Her Unicorn.