ACS Bay Area: Transgender Day of Visibility Panel

The trans and non-binary community is a resilient community that has been shaped by surviving societal antagonism. Yet today, this community is in the crosshairs of a nationwide assault on bodily autonomy, efforts to make ours a more diverse and inclusive society, and challenges to freedom of expression. The last few years of backlash have marked the most challenging time in the lives of many young trans people.Please come learn what you can do to help.

As of February 22, there are over 450 anti-LGBTQ bills traveling through statehouses and our national legislatures, with many targeting trans youth. In the third year of unprecedented assaults on trans youth, and in recognition of Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, and the Minority Bar Coalition will host an evening of advocacy and action for our community on March 14.

The panel will focus on three topics:

• Efforts to eliminate education and public discourse on LGBTQ+ topics;
• Efforts to make it more difficult for trans people to exist safely in public; and
• Challenges and barriers trans people face in accessing healthcare, whether gender-affirming or otherwise.

The discussion will address both challenges faced in California and nationally. We will end with a community discussion about what we can do to support the trans community and oppose laws and policies that target their well being.

Moderator:

Rafael Langer-Osuna, Esq. (they/them), Partner, Squire Patton Boggs; Co-Chair of the National Trans Bar Association and Co-Chair of the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom.

Panelists:

Khilynn Fowler (she/her), Manager of Community Engagement, Office of Transgender Initiatives, City and County of San Francisco

Zephyr Eslick-Persyn (he/him), High School Student and Activist

Theo Halladay (he/him), High School Student and Activist