In the first installment of GLAAD’s “Heroes of the Resistance,” we’re taking time to highlight changemakers and freedom fighters who are committed to supporting LGBTQ people and advancing policies and rhetoric that ensure our full dignity, respect, and equal treatment in daily life. With an overwhelming news cycle and uncertainty, it can be hard to see the positive moments. Here are a few that we captured — follow @GLAAD on social media for more and share with us the bright lights in your world, too!
1) Pro-LGBTQ voices use their platforms to speak loudly at the Grammys
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The 67th Annual Grammy Awards was a fun, lighthearted, celebratory reprieve from an onslaught of attacks against our community. Celebrities such as Chappell Roan declared: “It’s brutal right now but trans people have always existed and they will forever exist, and they will never – no matter what happens – take trans joy away and that has to be protected more than anything because I would not be here without trans girls. So just know that pop music is thinking about you and cares about you. I’m trying my best to really stand up for you in every way I can.”
GLAAD’s President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, remarked: “LGBTQ and ally music artists have always shared their talents and truths that support their diverse fans and the way that a love of music unites us all. Statements from Chappell Roan to Doechil to Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga and more at the Grammys have been seen and shared millions of times, a testament to the way their messages of love and support are resonating in this difficult climate. We need every person to use their talents and voices to speak up for everyone’s right to be themselves, be safe, and be free. It was an honor to witness and celebrate these artists on the red carpet and on stage.”
For a more comprehensive collection of beautiful moments, check out GLAAD’s Instagram, featuring interviews cohosted by actress Chrishell Stause & GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos con the red carpet. It was the second year GLAAD created a space to interview LGBTQ artists and amplify their messages to support LGBTQ people everywhere.
2) Seasoned LGBTQ lawyers are immediately taking legal action against the Trump administration’s blatantly unconstitutional anti-LGBTQ orders
As policy experts and legal advocates continue interpreting the whirlwind of executive orders being issued by the Trump administration, there are important opportunities to challenge many aspects of the directives in court. Some examples include:
- The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging the executive order banning lifesaving health care for transgender youth under age 19.
- The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal are suing President Trump for his his anti-transgender executive order directing federal agencies to discriminate against transgender service members.
- The National Center for Lesbian Rights has filed a lawsuit challenging restrictions for incarcerated transgender people resulting from Trump’s order that seeks to erase transgender people under the federal definition of “sex.”
- The American Civil Liberties Union has additionally filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s order preventing transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people from obtaining accurate passports.
ACLU’s staff attorney Sruti Swaminathan posted an update recently on Instagram stating, “Without accurate IDs, trans people would be restricted from flying, from opening a bank account, from enrolling in school, and so much more. This executive order is one of a wave of actions President Trump has taken against the transgender community and our right to exist, and we will not allow it.”
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Among others leading the effort in litigation are two of the nation’s top transgender lawyers, Chase Strangio of the ACLU National and Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Strangio argued on the side of transgender rights in the groundbreaking oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in December in U.S. v. Skrmetti, becoming the first transgender lawyer to ever argue before the highest court in the country. A new feature from out LGBTQ legal reporter Chris Geidner profiles both lawyers, who reminded readers that our movement is acting swiftly to identify legal loopholes and prevent the President from overstepping his authority; and that nothing can be implemented or actualized instantaneously.
Shannon urged those watching that we are not helpless. “People who are not lawyers, we need you,” he said. “You need to be foot soldiers. You are our fact finders on the ground. Anything you’re seeing or hearing about how these EOs and actions are being implemented, you’ve got to tell us. We need to pull information, come together, and fight back against this.”
Chase added: “The fight itself is critical. It’s empowering. And I don’t proclaim to know the outcome of anything at the outset of the fight. And I’ve watched — even just over the course of the weekend — equipping people with the idea of a resistance plan, the possibility of litigation, even if we can’t be successful 100% of the time, which nothing is successful 100% of the time, we need to be able to show people that that we’re trying in all sorts of different ways. … We are right on the law, and people deserve to feel that their rights are being defended in every possible way. That is how I continue — I mean, it feels absolutely worth it every single day to me.”
3) Straight legal experts are fighting for us too
New York Attorney General Letitia James not only warned New York hospitals to continue providing care, she took time to record a message of solidarity and comfort to LGBTQ people.
“A lot of what is happening is illegal. I want you to live your lives without any political gamesmanship. And I will defend your right to be exactly who you are. I will fight for your right to be free.”
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Attorneys general from Washington State, Oregon, and Minnesota, along with three health care providers who care for transgender youth, filed a federal lawsuit against Trump’s health care executive order and its threats to withhold funding.
The states say the order violates the 5th Amendment’s equal protection guarantee by singling out transgender people for mistreatment and discrimination. “The president’s cruelty is on full display with this dehumanizing executive order, along with his disdain for the Constitution. His actions are harming Washington’s youth, parents, and health care providers,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown stated. Brown and Washington State were also among multiple other states to file a lawsuit against Trump’s unconstitutional effort to end birthright citizenship, which was struck down again this week.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong vowed to fight Trump’s order targeting transgender women in sports: “We will not allow Title IX to be unlawfully misused to degrade women and girls and defund our schools, colleges, and universities. We will strongly oppose any attempt to strip Connecticut schools of funding merely because they are following a policy that aligns with the law.”
4) Sarah McBride, our nation’s first out transgender member of Congress, sends a message of support to LGBTQ youth
In a powerful and inspiring exclusive interview with PEOPLE Magazine, Sarah McBride, the U.S. Representative from Delaware and the first out transgender American elected to Congress, took time to send a message of hope and encouragement to LGBTQ youth feeling the sting of recent anti-LGBTQ news.
“You belong here in America,” she said. “While we see attacks against our community from the federal government and too many state governments, also know that we have millions of people who are fighting alongside us, to fight for you and to deliver progress for all of us. Hang in there. Find that hope in all of the allies that love you. And together, know that we are unstoppable.” She assured PEOPLE that she would always stand for her “”beautiful yet vulnerable community.” “I know this is a scary moment. I know you are frightened,” she says. “Perhaps you wonder whether the heart of this country is big enough to love you, too. But know that you are beautiful, that you matter and that you belong here in America.”
5) Hundreds of organizations come together to send a message of solidarity to LGBTQ people
More than 200 organizations signed onto a letter dedicated specifically to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit community, reminding us of our collective power and the strength we can find within our history. The letter leans on wisdom from queer and trans elders who have been through difficult moments before, urging us to keep moving forward and keep resisting.
“In these challenging times, we remind ourselves that ours is a legacy of care. Our stories, our families, our art, our voices, and our lives are powerful. We hold onto this truth: Those working to divide us cannot take away our joy because they didn’t give it to us in the first place. Trans and queer joy will always exist because trans and queer people will always be here. … To everyone in our community: We are here. We will keep fighting for us, showing up for us, and creating spaces where we can all feel safe and loved. We are not alone.
Through solidarity, thoughtfulness, and resilience, we will keep pushing forward.”
The statement is signed by local and national advocacy groups including GLAAD, Advocates for Trans Equality, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, PFLAG, and dozens of local chapters, affiliates, and state-based groups.
6) The broad support for LGBTQ people is reflected in grassroots protests and local organizing for LGBTQ and especially transgender Americans
The facts are clear: A broad majority of Americans – including most people of faith – believe LGBTQ people should not face discrimination. 76% of Americans overall indicated support according to a 2023 poll. Sometimes it’s easy to feel outnumbered by the vocal minority of extremists who try to convince us otherwise, but we can see the truth when we look for it.
Following an executive order threatening to remove transgender health care from youth under 19, thousands of people quickly gathered to urge NYU Langone Health not to preemptively take away care. NYU Health & Hospitals blasted an email to constituents reminding them that everyone is entitled to care, no matter what your gender identity or immigration status. New York’s Attorney General James also directed hospitals to continue providing health care to trans youth and joined 13 attorneys general in total to sue the Trump administration as a result of the order. For a list of clinics and providers continuing to provide care, check in with the Campaign for Southern Equality which runs a program dedicated to connecting transgender people and youth in hostile states with supportive networks closest to them; and to provide financial assistance to those in hostile states in need of resources.
7) Actress Busy Phillipps fact checked Trump’s sports order and spoke up for transgender women and girls
Busy posted on Instagram: “Get ready with me for a first date!”
Then: “Actually, I just really want to talk about Trump’s executive order ‘defending women from gender ideology.’”
“It’s a lie,” she states. “It doesn’t defend us. It doesn’t protect us. It hurts all of us.”
“As a cis woman, I want to say; I don’t need or want to be defended or protected from trans women,” she declares. “Trans women are my sisters.”
“Trans women and I have the same fight, which is for bodily autonomy and for safety and equality. I know that when we all fight together, we will get those things, things that we deserve.”
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Make sure to keep checking back here at GLAAD as we capture these positive moments of hope and joy for our community!