President Joe Biden celebrated transgender people on Wednesday, issuing a statement to commemorate “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
“I want you to know that your President sees you,” Biden said in his statement.
Biden voiced support for the ongoing fight for “transgender equality” against “the adversity and discrimination that the transgender community continues to face” around the world.
“On this day and every day, we recognize the resilience, strength, and joy of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people,” he wrote.
Biden celebrated “transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming Americans” for flourishing and “breaking glass ceilings of representation” in cultural institutions such as the military, the entertainment industry, sports, and in government.
But the president also expressed disappointment about the “epidemic” of violence and discrimination the community continued to face, especially “transgender women and girls of color.”
“Transgender people are some of the bravest Americans I know, and our Nation and the world are stronger, more vibrant, and more prosperous because of them,” he continued.
Biden called out Republican-led state legislatures for passing legislation that was “targeting transgender kids,” specifically calling out bills to protect girls’ and women’s sports.
The president’s statement also took a shot at the Florida Parental Rights in Education bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which bars discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms from kindergarten to third grade.
Biden hinted that such laws “outlaw discussing LGBTQI+ people in schools [and] undermine their humanity.”
“These bills are wrong,” he wrote.