Justice Department Commemorates International Transgender Day of Visibility

The Justice Department today commemorates International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day that celebrates and lifts up the accomplishments of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people throughout the United States.  

“International Transgender Day of Visibility is an important opportunity to reaffirm that transgender people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and to live free from discrimination, violence, and threats of violence,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Protecting the civil rights of everyone in our country was the Justice Department’s founding purpose, and it remains our urgent charge.”

Yesterday, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division joined with the FBI and the Community Relations Service (CRS) to host a webinar ahead of International Transgender Day of Visibility.

“Members of the LGBTQI+ community must be able to live free of discrimination, harassment, violence, and threats of violence,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. “That is why the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has been using every tool in our arsenal to protect the civil rights of LGBTQI+ community members.”

“We want to make it clear that the FBI does not tolerate violence against any members of our communities for any reason,” said FBI Deputy Assistant Director Aaron Tapp. “We will continue to work tirelessly to protect the LGBTQI+ community and the American people, and to uphold the Constitution of the United States.”

“As America’s Peacemaker, the CRS provides facilitation, mediation, training, and consultation services to help communities prevent and resolve future conflicts,” said CRS Director Paul Monteiro. “And we work with our Justice Department partners to connect federal, state, and local law enforcement with community members in order to build trust, restore respect, and create inclusive and equitable communities for all.”

The Civil Rights Division has used its civil and criminal authorities to enforce laws that guarantee the right of transgender people to live in our communities free from discrimination and threats and acts of violence. For example:

• The division issued a letter to all state attorneys general reminding them of federal constitutional and statutory provisions that protect transgender youth against discrimination, including when those youth seek gender-affirming care.
• The division has also filed statements of interest and amicus briefs in several cases involving the civil and constitutional rights of transgender people, including in Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corp. (7th Cir.), Brandt v. Rutledge (8th Cir.), and Corbitt v. Taylor (11th Cir.).
• The division is also challenging Alabama’s Senate Bill 184 (2022), a statute which has been preliminary enjoined by a federal district court, that criminalizes certain forms of gender affirming medical care for transgender minors but allows that same care when cisgender minors seek it.
• The division, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, continues to use federal civil rights laws to secure indictments and convictions in federal hate crimes cases charging defendants for assaulting transgender victims because of their gender identity.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s work to uphold and protect the civil and constitutional rights of LGBTQI+ individuals is available online at www.justice.gov/crt/lgbtqi-working-group. Complaints about discriminatory practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through its internet reporting portal at www.civilrights.justice.gov.