LGBTQ leaders in Washington, DC, and in states deploying their National Guard to a militarized DC, speak out about the dangers to LGBTQ people in DC and to public safety at home.
Dwayne Steward, Equality Ohio Executive Director
Dwayne Steward, Equality Ohio Executive Director“You don’t have to be from Ohio to know the dangerous history of injecting the National Guard into political moments. 55 years ago this past May, National Guard members fired on unarmed demonstrators on the Kent State campus, killing four students and injuring nine people. The violence sparked a nationwide reckoning that we are still atoning for to this day.
We are at a similar inflection point. Deploying the Ohio National Guard to Washington, DC, using demonstrable lies about crime to justify it, is inappropriate and dangerous, especially to already marginalized communities, including Black and Brown Americans, LGBTQ people and venues. Guards are roaming unfamiliar streets with unclear orders. They’re being used as props for political photo opps. They’re pulled from their families and communities not to serve their oath or neighbors, but a political agenda.
Our National Guard troops are our family, friends, and neighbors, just like LGBTQ people. They are community helpers, including last year after a deadly tornado outbreak across five Ohio counties. They belong on our streets, in a mission of helping, not attacking the people they’re meant to protect. Our personal safety and public safety are at stake. It’s up to each of us to speak up and end this pointless escalation. We must continue to build a history of trust, service, and peace.”
Chris Sanders, Tennessee Equality Project Executive Director
Chris Sanders, Tennessee Equality Project Executive Director“Deploying the Tennessee National Guard to the capital or any other city under false pretenses goes beyond playing politics. It is an extreme, repressive solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Governor Lee’s actions could create the very conflict and danger they purport to address. It seems no coincidence that cities that embrace their diverse communities, including the LGBTQ+ community, are being targeted.”
Jace Woodrum, ACLU of South Carolina Executive Director
Jace Woodrum, ACLU of South Carolina Executive Director“The fact is not lost on us in South Carolina that Governor Henry McMaster and President Trump have ordered our National Guard troops to occupy one of the largest Black population centers in the country. They are also attacking a thriving LGBTQ+ community. We condemn the abuse of our National Guard troops to intimidate our neighbors in Washington D.C., particularly at a time when the McMaster and Trump administrations are ramping up their cruelty against Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ people.
“As the national ACLU has warned, National Guard troops are generally not trained in local policing or de-escalation. By sending them to act as military police in places where police have already failed to earn the trust of the communities they serve, the governor is contributing to a needlessly volatile situation. We call on Governor McMaster to bring our National Guard troops home. Especially now, during the peak of hurricane season, we cannot afford to send them away as pawns in an authoritarian project.”
Lea Campbell, Mississippi Rising Coalition Founding Organizer
“To deploy the Mississippi National Guard far from home and during hurricane season is irresponsible and a recipe for disaster. Our Guard is more than a military, they are our communities’ 911 in a true emergency, and Mississippians are particularly vulnerable to devastation from hurricanes, as we know and remember on this 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Mississippi’s National Guard are also spouses and parents, many with full-time jobs and school, kids at home or older parents to look after. To send them on a manufactured mission that is so profoundly political dishonors their service, their families and harms everyone back home.
It has been reported that our capital city has a higher rate of crime than Washington, DC. But sending the Guard to Jackson or anywhere else in America is worse than a bandaid. It is dangerous political theater enabling our elected leaders to evade responsibility for what we know helps keep people safe: good-paying jobs, health care, food security, affordable homes, access to transportation, education and child care, clean air and water, the basics of community trust and safety. In fact, in deploying the MS National Guard to Washington DC, Governor Reeves is complicit in advancing the Trump regime’s authoritarian agenda that increases the risk of harm to the most vulnerable. LGBTQ people and queer Black and Brown families are at disproportionate risk as victims of crime as well as state-sponsored discrimination and abuse by law enforcement. The risks of militarization are too great for our most marginalized and for all families in Mississippi. Bring them home.”
Rosemary Ketchum, Founder, Friendlier City Project, West Virginia
“Our National Guard exists to protect and support our neighbors here in West Virginia, especially during times of crisis and natural disaster.
Diverting them for political theater in Washington or elsewhere undermines that mission and puts all of us at risk. For LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities, already vulnerable to discrimination, this militarized deployment is not only unnecessary, it is dangerous and erodes trust in our most important institutions.
We call on state leaders to keep the Guard where they belong: serving their communities, not intimidating them.”
Mark Rutstein/Crush Dance Bar, Washington, DC
“We have already seen a negative impact on our business, including a reduction of tourism to our venue and a decrease in people who are afraid of being profiled. The first two weeks of August resulted in a 38% reduction in sales. Some days we were 75% down in sales and others 50%. All of this would have been much worse had the LGBTQ community not shown up for us after seeing us on local and national news. They told us they came in to buy a drink to support us. We are hearing the same thing from other LGBTQ venues. Bottom line if this is all about safety, it’s really not safe or free if people can’t be themselves and live their lives, and be together in community. The takeover of metro police and increased federal presence comes at a great cost to the things we all value the most.”
Monica Hopkins, ACLU of the District of Columbia Executive Director
Monica Hopkins, ACLU of the District of Columbia Executive Director“The deployment of out-of-state National Guard troops and more federal agents onto D.C. streets is a brazen abuse of power meant to intimidate and create fear in the nation’s capital. This is an unnecessary overstep to micromanage D.C. under a phony emergency, causing real harm to residents and visitors — all to advance the Trump administration’s political agenda. The ACLU-D.C. will continue to monitor the use of D.C. police and federal law enforcement to ensure that the constitutional rights of our community are protected. We need the nation to join us in the fight for statehood so that D.C. residents are treated like those in every other state and have the same guardrails against federal overreach.”
Channyn Lynne Parker, Equality Illinois Interim CEO, responding to Trump administration intention to send federal troops to Chicago:
Channyn Lynne Parker, Equality Illinois Interim CEO, responding to Trump administration intention to send federal troops to Chicago:“Deploying the military against Chicagoans undermines the very trust between residents and public institutions that is essential to democracy. Illinois has shown that progress comes from community-centered solutions and bold leadership—not federal intimidation.
Sending in the military will not keep LGBTQ+ people, Black and Brown communities, or working families safe. What will keep us safe are investments in education, housing, healthcare, and public safety initiatives that are designed by and for our communities. The National Guard will not fund our schools, protect our right to healthcare, or ensure that LGBTQ+ Illinoisans can live free from violence and discrimination.
Equality Illinois rejects policies of fear and militarization. We will continue to work alongside our Mayor, our Governor, and our statewide partners to ensure Illinois remains a safe state for all—protected from government overreach and unwavering in our commitment to equality and justice.”
