LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After the veto override of Senate Bill 150, which bans gender-affirming care for youth, on this Trans Visibility Day, Kentucky's LGBTQ community is continuing to make their voices heard. One co-director of the Transgender Wellness Coalition, Dr. Bobbie Glass, remembers its origins, as a day of remembrance for trans people that have been murdered.
Dr. Glass says, "We began those celebrations as a day of remembrance. We would read their names and do things to say their names out loud to remember them, to take home something, remember their families and their children, and everybody that loved them."
Trans Visibility Day started in 2009 as a way of celebrating the trans community, but also as a way of bringing awareness to challenges in the LGBTQ community.
Lexington Pride Center’s executive director, Carmen Wampler-Collins, explains how this year’s rally came about, saying, "Queer Youth Assemble is a nationwide organization that is trying to get kids involved, trans and queer kids involved in rallies and actions to talk about their lives and use their voices."
Youth are coming together for a rally at the Courthouse Plaza to continue to take a stand against SB 150. She says when bills like that pass, the support of the community is all that matters.
Wampler-Collins says, "No, we're not going anywhere. We're not going back in the closet — and especially for youth, that they have support, that they have people on their side, that they can use their voices. And, you know, I think a lot of the antidote to fear is action."
After SB 150, Kentucky’s LGBTQ community continues to have concerns about the mental wellness of youth who won’t have access to gender-affirming care. This Trans Visibility Day, Dr. Glass wants to tell young people not to lose hope.
"Do not let these haters define who you are, and who you're going to be, and who you were created to be. You were created for a time like this, and don't you dare cave into the hate,” says Dr. Glass.
Kentucky's LGBTQ community continues to say that this legislation is not the end.
