Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

LGBTQ

By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Across the world, International Women’s Day has always been more than a celebration – it is a day of struggle. It was forged in the fight of New York City garment workers who took to the streets in 1908, to protest the super-exploitation they endured in sweatshops as they tried to support their families: dangerous working conditions, back-breaking hours, child labor and wage theft. They marched shoulder to shoulder with the suffragettes fighting for women’s right to vote. The revolutionary hero Clara Zetkin marked March 8th as a global day of action as a way to unite women worldwide in the fight for socialism and liberation.

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Por el Equipo de Trabajo del Movimiento LGBTQ y de las Mujeres de la OSCL

Parece que Trump firma cada orden ejecutiva discriminatoria antes de que se haya secado la tinta de la anterior. No se ha tardado ni se ha guardado ningún golpe al atacar a las personas trans.

Las órdenes ejecutivas más recientes incluyen retener fondos federales como rehén para prohibir que los atletas trans participen en deportes y que los niños trans reciban atención médica. Basada en pseudociencia, una orden ejecutiva declara que “es política de los Estados Unidos reconocer dos sexos”. Esto borra a los miles de personas cisgénero intersexual que viven en los Estados Unidos. La misma orden exige que se prohíba a las mujeres trans usar los baños de mujeres en edificios federales, y llama a los compañeros de trabajo a volverse unos contra otros para reportarlos. También prohíbe cambiar los marcadores de género en los pasaportes.

Trump está impulsando legislación que permitiría a los padres demandar a los proveedores médicos por ofrecer atención para afirmación de género a los niños, mientras castiga simultáneamente a los padres y trabajadores de la salud por respetar la autonomía de los jóvenes transgénero. Él también está prohibiendo que las mujeres trans usen refugios para víctimas de abuso y que sean alojadas con mujeres en las prisiones, efectivamente agravando la violencia sexual contra ellas.

Estas órdenes llegan después de cientos de proyectos de ley anti-LGBTQ introducidos por gobiernos estatales reaccionarios en un contragolpe después de la derrota de Trump en 2020. Exponen el rostro abiertamente reaccionario de un imperio en decadencia atacando, tratando de salvar el sistema opresivo del que depende.

Son la punta de lanza en un ataque total contra las mujeres y las personas LGBTQ. La orden de “dos sexos” define que el género comienza “en la concepción,” abriendo la puerta a la peligrosa noción de personalidad fetal. La prohibición de la atención para afirmación de género establece que las personas trans llevan a cabo “una guerra perdida contra sus propios cuerpos,” cuestionando tanto la autonomía corporal como el derecho de las personas a definir sus propias identidades.

La idea de que estas órdenes de alguna manera “protegen a las mujeres” es una mentira. No solo exponen a las mujeres trans y cisgénero a un escrutinio innecesario y traumático de sus cuerpos, sino que tampoco hacen nada para proteger a las mujeres de los verdaderos perpetradores de violencia. Cuando la mayoría de los ataques contra las mujeres ocurren en sus relaciones íntimas con hombres o mientras viven sus vidas en público, regular la participación de las personas trans en la vida pública es una distracción absurda de los verdaderos problemas en nuestra sociedad.

Estas órdenes también limitarán los derechos de las mujeres de nacionalidades oprimidas y de clase trabajadora. La prohibición en los deportes impide que las mujeres trans y las personas no conforme con el género entren al país, abriendo la puerta al racismo contra cualquier mujer considerada demasiado masculina. Las prohibiciones en los deportes y la atención para afirmación de género amenazan con retener los almuerzos gratis en las escuelas, así como los fondos de Medicare y Medicaid a los hospitales que no cumplan con la discriminación contra las personas transgénero.

La OSCL se opone firmemente a estas políticas reaccionarias dirigidas contra nuestros miembros trans de la comunidad. Estos ataques tienen como objetivo intimidar, confundir y abrumar. No lo permitiremos. Uniremos a todos quienes puedan unirse en contra de la agenda de Trump y del movimiento político retrógrado que él representa. Esperamos con ansias luchar en las calles.

#LGBTQ #Trans #OSCL #FRSO #Statement

By David Margaryan and Lain Dorsey

Tallahassee students win LGBTQ+ housing.

Tallahassee, FL – On February 19, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society held a rally to celebrate the restoration of LGBTQ+ housing at Florida State University and to voice support for FSU’s queer community.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society.

At the start of the Spring 2025 semester, FSU Admin secretly axed LGBTQ+ Housing – which provides much needed accommodations to transgender and queer students living on campus without communicating their decision to any students, or even the Inter-Residence Hall Council (IHRC). This comes amid escalating attacks on the rights and autonomy of queer and trans people by the reactionary Trump administration and the ruling Florida Republican Party.

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By Sam Tunningley

Grand Rapids, Michigan event in solidarity with immigrants and trans people.

Grand Rapids, MI – At Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, February 15, around 80 people gathered to hear speakers stressing solidarity with the immigrant and queer communities. The event’s purpose was to spread awareness and further mobilization, while also stressing the connections between the two struggles.

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By LGBTQ & Women's Movement Work Team of FRSO

It seems like Trump signs each bigoted executive order before the ink dries on the last. He hasn’t spared any time or pulled any punches in attacking trans people.

The latest executive orders include holding federal funds hostage to bar trans athletes from sports and trans kids from receiving healthcare. Based on pseudoscience, one executive order declares that “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes.” This erases the thousands of cisgender intersex people living in the United States. The same order mandates that trans women be barred from women’s restrooms in federal buildings, and it calls on coworkers to turn against each other to report them. It also prohibits changing gender markers on passports.

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By staff

Protest at Super Bowl against Trump's reactionary agenda.

New Orleans, LA – On February 9, roughly 200 people took to the streets in downtown New Orleans for a rally and march against President Donald Trump’s visit to the Super Bowl LIX at the Superdome.

The protest was called by New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, alongside a broad coalition of organizations. After Trump’s recent attacks on the most oppressed, protestors came out to demand Trump end ICE raids and deportations, stop attacks on trans people, and keep out of Gaza.

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By Saba Indawala

 Tampa protest against Trump agenda.

Tampa, FL – On Wednesday, February 5, over 300 people gathered for a protest against Trump’s agenda at Tampa City Hall to demand an end to mass deportations and to defend women’s and LGBTQ rights.

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By Quest Riggs

Anti Trump protesters carry flags and a banner on Canal Street in New Orleans.

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, February 1 New Orleanians from diverse communities took the busy downtown streets at rush-hour to voice their anger. The protest was organized by the Queer and Trans Community Action Project (QTCAP) in response to several executive orders that Donald Trump passed in his first few days as president. Around 100 protesters marched with signs and flags behind a banner reading “Protect LGBTQ+ youth!”

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By staff

On Thursday, February 6, at 5 p.m. Pacific time (6 p.m. Mountain, 7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. Eastern), Freedom Road Socialist Organization will be hosting an online meeting “Building the Movement to Fight Trump’s Agenda.”

Featured speakers include Frank Chapman, executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR), Marisol Márquez of Legalization for All, and Sydney Loving, a member of the Central Committee of FRSO. Fight Back! asked each of these leading organizers why they thought this upcoming meeting was important in building the fight against Trump. Here’s what they had to say.

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By Micah Colby

Students hold signs and a Palestinian flag in a campus square.

Allendale, MI – On January 29, Grand Valley State University's Progressive Student Union (PSU) led a speak-out against the new Trump administration. People held signs relating to healthcare, immigration, LGBTQ rights and other causes. The mood was casual, and people joined the students in protest throughout the event.

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By David Pulido

Protest against Trump agenda in Santa Ana, California.

Santa Ana, CA – Over 100 community members, activists and organizers rallied in Santa Ana to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20.

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By staff

A group of protesters marching holding a banner.

Madison, WI – On January 18, Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee (RJAM) stood at the forefront of the fight for reproductive freedom, participating in two powerful marches held simultaneously in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These events were part of the People’s March National Day of Action, which drew thousands to the streets, united in their support of women’s and reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, workers’ rights, global solidarity, and immigrant rights.

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By staff

A group of protestors holding signs, banners and flags.

Baton Rouge, LA – On Monday January 20, despite the freezing temperature and extreme wind, Louisiana State University (LSU) students and Baton Rouge community members gathered at the State Capitol to stand in opposition to Trump’s inauguration.

A coalition of organizations representing students, trans rights, Palestinian rights, and political groups all united against Trump’s bigoted agenda and spoke to the next year’s difficulties, highlighting that it would be crucial to keep the struggle in the streets.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following speech that was given by Sydney Loving, member of Central Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, at the Washington DC protest coinciding with the inauguration of Trump.

Brothers, sisters, and comrades,

It is so good to stand here with all of you. As an organization last year, we spearheaded the massive marches on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that brought 30,000 into the streets – that was the first step, and here is the next. Inauguration day is day one, and we’re mobilizing all over the country. The message is this: we’re not just ready for a fight – we’re looking for one.

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By Haze Leviathan

Peoples March in Olympia, Washington.

Olympia, WA – Hundreds gathered at Heritage Park in Olympia, on Saturday, January 18, to protest against the second inauguration of Donald Trump. People of all ages, genders and nationalities from dozens of organizations made up the Peoples’ March on a brisk, sunny afternoon.

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By staff

A vigil with portraits on the ground with candles around them.

San Jose, CA – On the evening of Saturday, November 23, around 30 community members gathered at Saint James Park to honor members of the trans community who are no longer with us, as well as the Palestinians who have been martyred over the past year. The action was organized by the San Jose People’s Pride coalition.

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By Drew Amelia

Outagamie County Wisconsin Community members honor and remember fallen trans siblings at vigil.

Appleton, WI – In the biting cold of a Wisconsin evening, over 100 community members gathered on November 20 at Houdini Plaza with cider and a shared revolutionary spirit to keep them warm. As trans and gender fluid voices rang out, their message echoed through Outagamie county with unmistakable clarity: “Trans sanctuary now! We won’t back down!”

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By Naomi Retherford

Quest Riggs speaks to crowd at New Orleans vigil.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

New Orleans, LA – On November 20, over 70 trans community members, their loved ones and friends gathered at Hunter’s Field park in the city’s seventh ward, for the 9th annual Trans March of Resilience, hosted by longtime Black trans organizers in The House of Tulip.

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By Mick Kelly

Minneapolis post-election protest. | Ashley Taylor-Gouge/Watch Me Rise MPLS

Minneapolis, MN – More than 300 people rallied and marched in Minneapolis’s West Bank neighborhood, November 6, in the wake of Trump’s election. The protest was in solidarity with Palestine and opposed the ever-widening U.S./Israel war in the Middle East. In addition, demonstrators were united behind a broad, progressive agenda that defends the rights of immigrants, workers, LGBTQ people, women’s and reproductive rights, and African Americans and other oppressed peoples.

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