Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

LGBTQ

By JJ Glueck

Trans Day of Visibility rally in Tallahassee, FL.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Tallahassee, FL – On March 31, activists rallied at Cascades Park for Transgender Day of Visibility and demanded justice for Nex Benedict.

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By Ryan Spalt

Protesters hold banner at LSU Parade Grounds. | Fight Back! News/staff

Baton Rouge, LA – On Monday April 1, Louisiana State University students celebrated Trans Day of Visibility at the campus’s Parade Grounds to resist Louisiana's transphobic legislation, as well as an anti-trans administrative policy.

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By staff

 Tampa, Florida vigil organized by Students for a Democratic Society \[SDS\] demands justice for Nex Benedict. | Fight Back! News/staff

Tampa, FL – On March 29, around 20 students gathered in front of the University of South Florida library to participate in a vigil held by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to celebrate the life of, and demand justice for, Nex Benedict.

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By Naomi Retherford

Protesters march through the French Quarter holding banner against Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On March 31, over 200 LGBTQ folks and allies gathered in Washington Square Park near the French Quarter. Just an hour before the annual Gay Easter Parade, the crowd came together to hear opening remarks from organizations.

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By staff

Tallahassee holds vigil to honor murdered trans Oklahoma teen. | Fight Back! News/staff

Tallahassee, FL – On the evening of March 24, 25 community members gathered to honor the life of Nex Benedict, an Oklahoma transgender teenager who was murdered. The vigil was held at Common Ground Books, a local LGBTQ bookstore.

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By staff

Group of activists hold sighs with slogans like "Stand for Trans Rights", "Stop HB1639", and "Not One Step Back"

Orlando, FL – Activists left a rainbow of messages against HB 1639 on the front door of Florida Representative Doug Bankson’s office in Apopka on Friday afternoon, January 26. It was part of an action called by Orlando for Gender Equality to fight back against the wave of anti-LGBTQ bills being proposed by Florida’s right-wing legislature.

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By staff

Florida students rally in defense of diversity. | Fight Back! News/Alicia Devine

Tallahassee, FL – On January 25, about 80 students and activists from various organizations rallied outside Florida State University’s student union building, where the Board of Governors meeting voted to approve new guidelines that prohibit schools from using government funds for DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and to remove sociology from the list of classes that fulfill required general education credits.

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By staff

Orlando, FL – On January 8, members of Orlando for Gender Equality (OGE), gathered on the steps of Orlando City Hall to announce its “Not One Step Back,” campaign, a series of events and actions planned to kill the onslaught of anti-queer bills that have been proposed by various Florida legislators and supported by the state’s right-wing Governor Ron DeSantis.

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By staff

Protest against attempts by Democratic Party politicians to use "pinkwashing" to defend the genocide in Palestine. | Fight Back! News/staff

Madison, WI – On December 17, a crowd of 50 people marched around the State Capitol building to denounce “pinkwashing” and Democratic Party politicians using the LGBTQ+ community to justify genocide.

The action was organized by the Trans Resistance Action Committee (TRAC), a newer grassroots community organization in Madison which fights for trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people’s rights.

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By staff

Ermiya Fanaeian of Armed Queers SLC speaks against transphobia at the University of Utah. | Fight Back! News/Nick Belko

Salt Lake City, UT – Despite freezing temperatures and attempts at stifling the student movement, dozens of students and supporters gathered outside of the University of Utah’s Language and Communications building on November 30 to take a stand against a presentation by anti-transgender advocate Chloe Cole. 19-year-old Cole claims that she underwent female-to-male gender affirmation surgery at age 15, detransitioned at age 16 and says that this caused her “lifelong, irreversible harm.”

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By staff

Zade Dallman from the Trans Resistance Action Committee criticizes the hypocrisy of the UW administration outside Ben Shapiro's speaking event. | Fight Back! News/staff

Madison, WI – On November 6, nearly 80 students and community members gathered outside Shannon Hall on the University of Wisconsin (UW) campus to protest the reactionary Ben Shapiro's visit. The focus of the protest was squarely on Palestine and on trans rights, both issues which Shapiro has disgusting views on and both topics which the university and the Wisconsin state government have a checkered record on.

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By staff

Person wearing a black track suit holds sign saying "All 3 assault charges dropped" appears in front of a trans flag background.

Wadsworth, OH – On October 23 and 24, dozens of people organized themselves to “phone zap” the county court and prosecutors of Wadsworth to demand that all bogus charges against Leif Autzen be dropped. They called the office non-stop to voice their anger. Within 48 hours of the beginning of the zap, all felony charges against Autzen were dropped and he no longer faced jail time.

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By staff

National March to Protect Trans Youth in Orlando, Florida. | Fight Back! News/staff

Orlando, FL – Hundreds of people converged on Orlando City Hall on October 7, for the National March to Protect Trans Youth. Organizers from all over the country – including states as far as California, Louisiana, Montana and Connecticut – gathered to oppose Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ attacks on LGBTQ people.

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By Elijah Lieberman

Rally in Tallahassee to defend trans rights. | Fight Back! News/staff

Tallahassee, FL – On Wednesday, October 4, 25 students gathered at the steps of the Florida State University (FSU) Student Union to kick off FSU’s Pride Month and demand FSU defend the rights of transgender students. Students chanted “No hatred! No discrimination! What do we need? Trans liberation!” and “Racist, sexist, anti-gay! Ron DeSantis, go away!”

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By staff

Madison, WI protest demands Dane County drop anti-trans health care provider. | Fight Back! News/staff

Madison, WI – On Saturday, September 23, activists and allies from the Trans Resistance Action Committee (TRAC) demonstrated outside the Capitol building in Madison to demand that Dane County drop the Dean Health insurance plan.

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By staff

Orlando, FL – On September 11, Orlando for Gender Equality mobilized for the Orlando city council meeting as part of their campaign to demand a guarantee of lowest possible enforcement for the anti-trans bathroom law passed by the state legislature earlier this year. The new law criminalizes transgender people for using the bathroom that aligns with their gender, with punishments including a $1000 fine or imprisonment for up to a year. This mobilization comes after a recent protest, hosted by OGE, against DeSantis’ hateful agenda of anti-trans sentiment and infringement on democratic rights.

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By staff

Protester condemns Landry in front of KLFY studio. | Fight Back! News/Lucas Harrell

Lafayette, LA – On September 15, over 30 protesters from all across southern Louisiana gathered outside the state’s second governor’s debate. While the night’s debate gathered the race’s top seven candidates to discuss policy, the demonstrators came to make one thing clear: Republican frontrunner Jeff Landry and his attacks would not be tolerated.

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By staff

Orlando activists fight for trans bathroom access. | Fight Back! News/staff

Orlando, FL – Activists and community members gathered outside of the Orange County courthouse in Orlando on September 1 to protest the agenda of Governor Ron DeSantis, in the wake of his recent attacks on the democratic rights. The community came together to show their support for transgender rights, and to protest the bigotry of DeSantis and the political climate he has orchestrated.

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By Jacob Muldoon

Progressive organizations meet in Orlando, discuss plans to resist attacks from

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, August 19, a panel of progressive organizations organized by Las Semillas was held at the Orange County Public Library. The purpose of this panel was for progressive organizations to network, present the work they are doing in their communities, and have a discussion about pressing political issues. All of these activities contribute to the goal of building a united front against the DeSantis administration and the deterioration of material conditions, especially for the working class of Central Florida. “Florida’s on fire in more ways than one, so we’re glad to be in concert with anyone trying to put the pieces together,” stated the social media post promoting the event.

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By staff

Chrisley Carpio of the Tampa 5 speaks against attacks on trans people in Florida

Milwaukee, WI – Nearly 30 protesters with the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 massed outside the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee on the evening of August 22 to protest Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer turned right-wing anti-trans personality. Protesters chanted “Transphobic, anti-gay, Riley Gaines, go away!” “Can’t swim Riley” and “Sore loser Riley” as they picketed outside the hotel. They carried a large banner that read “Stop trans genocide” and received a great deal of support from passing cars and people walking by.

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