El Informe de la Resistencia: Esta semana en la lucha por la justicia

Day One. Day 100. Still Fighting.

Blog de Ricardo Martínez (él/él), Director Ejecutivo

On the 100th day of the second Trump administration, I had a chance to meet with a group of parents of LGBTQ+ children. Sitting in a circle, we went around the room introducing ourselves. Each introduction offered a window into the lives of people who have been directly impacted by the cruelty of executive actions targeting their families. At the close of the introductions, it was clear that the palpable feeling in the air wasn’t fear or desperation – it was love and defiance. The bold refusal to succumb to our circumstances was a testament to the power of unconditional love and the resilience of our community.

The following day, I joined GLAD Law staff, community partners, volunteers, and courageous attorneys at the National Law Day of Action event hosted by the Massachusetts Bar Association. The event, which takes place annually, took on a different significance this year as political pressure and threats to the profession and rule of law have grown.

Listening to hundreds of attorneys reaffirm their oaths of allegiance to the U.S. and Massachusetts constitutions was grounding. It was affirming to be in a sea of people who know the importance of using all aspects of the law to safeguard our families and protect our access to necessary health care and the ability to navigate life safely. Having them recommit to ensuring we remain a nation governed by law rather than one led by those who think they’re above it was beyond uplifting.

At a time when I know all of us are oscillating between fear, hope, sadness, frustration, and anger, these moments are welcome and cherished. This fuel – enriching my soul for whatever is to come – was serendipitous.

But before the fight continued, I thought the 100-day mark could be a good time to reflect on where we are and the results of our collective efforts. I hope you’ll join me and attorneys Jennifer Levi, Polly Crozier, and Chris Erchull on Wednesday’s community briefing to hear more about these efforts and thoughts on what lies ahead.

Day One

On his first day in Office, President Trump issued a broad executive order that, among other things, required the Bureau of Prisons to transfer transgender women to men’s facilities and unlawfully withhold necessary medical care. The result: GLAD Law swiftly filed three different lawsuits and obtained preliminary injunctions in each, stopping transgender women from being transferred to men’s facilities where they face significantly increased risk of sexual assault.

The President’s day-one executive order also tries to deny individuals the ability to have their sex designation on their U.S. passport match their gender identity. Our coalition partners have filed suits on behalf of several individuals, and a federal court has blocked the order as applied to those individuals.

Prohibición de transexuales en el ejército

Within a week of taking office, President Trump issued an order directing the discharge of all transgender individuals from the military. We fought back on behalf of the thousands of transgender service members and enlistees who meet and exceed the same rigorous military standards as others and who put their lives on the line to serve their country.

GLAD Law immediately filed a suit to challenge the ban. We subsequently filed a second lawsuit on the issue, and our coalition partners filed a companion case. The result: Our first case, Talbott contra Estados Unidos, secured a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the ban, and our second case, Irlanda contra Hegseth, achieved a temporary restraining order to protect two Air Force servicemembers who were facing immediate expulsion. The Trump Administration has sought the Supreme Court’s intervention in the Shilling v. USA case filed by Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign, and that request is currently pending. Yesterday, we filed an amicus brief on behalf of the dedicated servicemembers in Talbott, urging the Supreme Court to continue blocking enforcement of the ban.

Cuidado de la salud

The President has also issued orders attempting to deny federal funding to institutions that promote “gender ideology,” including government-funded coverage for transgender health care and restricting medical care for individuals under 19 years old. Our coalition partners and several states and physicians filed two separate lawsuits. They obtained preliminary injunctions to block enforcement of these lawless edicts.

Escuelas

The administration has tried to use federal funding as a weapon to get schools to drop all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. Our coalition partners have challenged many of the orders that try to block such DEI efforts, and, most recently, a federal court in New Hampshire blocked a Department of Education threat to do so.

Sports Bans

On February 5, President Trump issued an executive order banning transgender girls from playing in girls’ sports. GLAD Law and the ACLU of New Hampshire are representing Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, two transgender high schoolers challenging the ban that aims to keep them and other trans girls from playing the sports they love with their friends. We originally filed the case as a challenge to a New Hampshire state law, but we expanded it to include President Trump and his executive order to ban trans girls from sports nationwide. That case is pending.

Pensando en el futuro

While the fight continues, these early court victories are crucial – they have given us time to build stronger protections and help us educate the American public about what’s at stake. The stage is set for GLAD Law and our partners to build off this success and continue to delay and defeat this administration’s attempts to illegally strip LGBTQ+ Americans of their fundamental rights.

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