Supporting Our Trans Community

A message from the President of QLaw

Recent events highlight the need for us all to reiterate our support for the trans community. We’ve seen an embattled and imperiled administration lashing out at what it views as easy targets to promote a politics of fear and hatred. QLaw joins the many voices standing up against that.

Let me say what can never be said enough: To our trans friends, colleagues, and neighbors, you belong. You belong in QLaw. You belong in the legal profession. You belong in our communities and nation.

What we need to see from our leaders is not division but empathy, especially for those challenged in ways most could not even imagine. My trans friends are among the bravest people I know. Those who’ve transitioned or are on that journey, while casting off the yoke of burying their true selves, often are taking on a life filled with ridicule, harassment, prejudice, and the threat of violence. Daily life is an act of courage and defiance.

This is a time for us all to stand up and be counted. We cannot sit idly by while a cowardly administration threatens the rights of trans people as a wedge issue. Take action, whether that’s supporting organizations fighting for trans equality and empowerment, volunteering for political campaigns, attending demonstrations, teaching your kids about the issues, or more.

And vote. Our rights depend on it.

Dan Shih
President, QLaw Association of Washington