Friday night, ten Democrats convened in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to talk about concerns specific to the LGBTQ community. Though we’re a few debates in, LGBTQ issues have gotten little attention on the national stage. GLAAD, the Advocate, and the Cedar Rapids Gazette organized the forum as an opportunity for the major Democratic candidates to talk seriously and specifically about issues facing the queer community. Moderators pushed candidates beyond simple “love is love” language and asked questions about voting records, healthcare, the transgender military ban, and more.
It was an uneven night for candidates—some, like former Vice President Joe Biden, struggled to talk about voting records and the “decency” of Mike Pence, in spite of his strong record of allyship with the LGBTQ community. On the flip, candidates like Senator Cory Booker, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, and Senator Elizabeth Warren did notably well.
Senator Warren made a move that quickly went viral on Twitter. Moderator Lyz Lenz asked Warren what we could expect from her in her first 100 days as president. Warren said she’d “show” the audience, and proceeded to read off the names of the 18 black transgender women who have been murdered in 2019 alone.
These are their names, in the order read by Warren: Dana Martin, Jazzaline Ware, Ashanti Carmon, Claire Legato, Muhlaysia Booker, Michelle ‘Tamika’ Washington, Paris Cameron, Chanel Lindsey, Chanel Scurlock, Zoe Spears, Brooklyn Lindsey, Denali, Berries Stuckey, Kiki Fantroy, Pebbles LaDime ‘Dime’ Doe, Tracy Single, Bailey Reeves, Bee Love Slater, Ja’leyah-Jamar. You can read more about each woman here.
As we’ve covered previously at Daily Kos, trans women of color (and particularly black trans women) are especially vulnerable when it comes to sex- and race-based crimes. There are a few reasons for this: Trans people are more likely to experience homelessness, unemployment, and mental health issues, like depression. Trans youth are more likely to be harassed, bullied, and drop out of school without a diploma. There are no federal protections for transgender people. On top of all of this, systemic racism.
Mind you, the number of trans people killed is likely even higher, but because of deadnaming and transphobia, people’s deaths aren’t always recorded or reported accurately.
Here’s the clip from the forum:
Here’s what Warren tweeted, which repeats the names of those killed:
"Equality is far off for many people in this country, but the cost of inequality for trans people, particularly trans women of color, has now reached a moment of crisis and it is time for everyone in America to speak out on this issue," Warren said at the forum.
All of the candidates promised to appoint pro-LGBTQ judges and justices, which is excellent and probably not surprising. During her question and answer portion, Warren stressed that Congress can (and should) take steps to protect LGBTQ people if the Supreme Court rules against the community in important cases coming up.
“We’ve relied on our courts to protect the rights of individuals — that’s why they’re there, to protect the minority, to protect the individual,” she stated. “I hope we don’t lose this case, I will stay on top of this, but remember, we also have a Congress that we can hold accountable. And our Congress can decide that we all are equal in this country, and that is the fight I’m ready to lead.”
You can check out the full forum below: