President Trump is following through on pledges to roll back transgender protections in a number of areas, including the military and in federal government agencies.
"I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools," he said during an event in Arizona before his inauguration.
In his latest move, Trump is looking to pull federal funding from schools teaching "radical gender ideology."
During a council meeting this week, the Fourth District's Emma Curtis spoke directly to transgender residents, saying one of the orders implies transgender people "cannot live, quote, honorable, truthful, or disciplined lives."
"I wanna point to every single trans person, who's watching this, who may be feeling alone or like their life doesn't have value. And I'd like to just say that our worth, our humanity, and our dignity were given to us by our creator, not by our government," Curtis said.
The activist-turned-council-newcomer reminded the body that districts and the city and state don't exist "in a silo" and urged kindness and patience toward any transgender residents who may seek their help in the coming days.
