March 2023 Highlights

March was a busy one for us -- we rallied with the Queer Youth Assemble and more than 1,000 people in Washington, D.C. on Trans Day of Visibility

… we also released new data about the impact of gender-affirming care bans
… fought legislation and extremists across the country
… premiered a film about proud dads of trans and queer young people at South by Southwest
…. and honored Michaela Jae Rodriguez for her powerful work.

Check out details about all this work and more in our March highlights!

• For Transgender Day of Visibility, HRC joined Queer Youth Assemble in a march to the United States Capitol to demand action against the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in state legislatures across the country.
• HRC announced the Greater Than Hate campaign, a coalition of eight of the nation’s leading human rights and equality organizations – the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Everytown for Gun Safety, the NAACP, the National Education Association (NEA), the National Women’s Law Center, Equality Federation, Asians Fighting Injustice, and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) – to form a collective, multi-racial, multi-cultural movement with the aim of fighting back against extremist politicians and their growing and loud campaign of hate.
• HRC released data indicating that more than half (50.4%) of transgender youth (ages 13-17) have lost or are at risk of losing access to age appropriate, medically necessary gender-affirming care in their state.
• HRC was on site at SxSW in Austin, Texas for the premiere of the short film “The Dads” by "Mama Gloria" director Luchina Fisher. HRC supported the film, which centers six dads associated with HRC’s Parents for Transgender Equality Council, and their love for their trans and LGBTQ+ children, their fears for their kids' safety, and the urgency to fight for the ground on which they all stand.
• Actress, singer, and activist Michaela Jaé Rodriguez was honored with the HRC Visibility Award at the 2023 HRC Los Angeles Dinner. HRC President Kelley Robinson said, “Through her extraordinary talent, courage, and determination, Michaela Jaé has not only made history as a transgender woman of color, but she has also inspired millions of people around the world.”
• After this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), HRC denounced the onslaught of transphobic statements spread by extremist politicians and far-right activists. The conference previewed the dangerous rise of transphobia as part of a national political agenda.

• HRC President Kelley Robinson joined singer-songwriter Shea Diamond, drag artists, and local LGBTQ+ Orgs in Tennessee for a rally against Governor Lee’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation.
• Florida parents announced a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on essential medical care for transgender children. The parent plaintiffs and their children are represented by Southern Legal Counsel, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Human Rights Campaign.
• This month, Oklahoma Representative Mauree Turner was the target of a censure motion by Republican leaders — a blatant attempt to silence the first openly non-binary U.S. state legislator. HRC joined GLSEN, GLAAD, National Black Justice Coalition, National LGBTQ Task Force, and major social justice organizations to condemn the move.
• HRC sat down with artist Kah Yangni for an enlightening discussion about how they spotlight their lived Black and queer experiences and those of their intersecting communities through the lenses of joy and beauty.