On this International Transgender Day of Visibility, members of the LGBTQ+ community are making sure they are seen with a rally in downtown New Haven.
“I'm gonna be loud,” Dixie, a drag queen from Milford, said.
“Love is Love” is the message from drag queens, transgender men and women, and LGBTQ+ allies at the demonstration. They marched from the New Haven Green to city hall Friday afternoon.
The rally coincides with a national protest against legislation passed in Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida and other states that impacts transgender communities and drag queens.
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“There's a lot of people in Congress and in Washington, who aren't, they don't have any affiliation or any empathy for our lifestyle,” Tia Waters, of New Haven, said.
The demonstrators’ biggest concerns are about bills that crack down on drag shows, prohibit student-athletes from playing sports, and ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
“For Connecticut lawmakers, we I think they need to speak out a little more, push a little more pressure on the other states that are proposing these bills,” Shane DeVietro, a rally organizer, said.
As a transgender woman, Jayde Maffeo raises her voice at the rally, but also as a drag queen performer.
“It’s very scary, some of the things that are going on and what could possibly happen in the future,” Maffeo said. “We're not criminals. We're not predators. We are human beings just going on. Just living our daily lives just wanting to fit into society.”
She marches alongside fellow drag queen Dixie, also known as Mark Rohrig when not in drag.
“They're taking liberties and freedoms away from me and my people,” Dixie said. “I cry every day. I was crying before you got here, I'm crying just thinking about it now. But it's sad because it's... people are devolving.”
To mark this Day of Transgender Visibility, the Trans Pride flag is flying over the State Capitol. Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewictz tweeted support for the Trans community.
"As we see trans rights under attack nationwide and anti-trans legislation being ushered through in countless states, I have a clear message to the trans community: we see you, we love you, we won’t stop fighting for you, and you will always have a home in Connecticut," she wrote.
The executive director of PROUD Academy also released a statement, applauding Bysiewicz’s request to fly the Trans Pride flag.
“PROUD Academy feels welcome and embraced in Connecticut. However, living in a progressive state does not mean that all our public schools are safe for LGBTQ+ youth,” Patty Nicolari writes. “In fact, 95% of students who have expressed an interest in enrolling in PROUD Academy are trans and non-binary youth. Their stories are heartbreaking. Intolerance is epidemic, and we will not tolerate it.”
More than 40 people attended Friday’s rally in New Haven, walking toward a future where Trans communities are seen.
“For these people to be dedicated to seeing that transgender people get their rights and get treated with the care that they need for a transgender youth, you know, that's what it's all about,” Dixie said.
There were no counter-protests to the rally.
