On Trans Day of Visibility, We Celebrate the Power of Community

Trans Day of Visibility is an opportunity to revel in joy, belonging and the power of community. At the ACLU-WA, we celebrate community and its accomplishments to secure equality and inclusion for transgender people in our state.

While every day brings a new assault on the rights of transgender people from the Trump Administration, here in Washington, the LGBTQIA2S+ community has worked for decades to secure rights and protections for transgender people. Thanks to the efforts of so many, our state’s strong anti-discrimination laws offer an umbrella of hope and the tools to fight back against attacks on transgender rights and freedoms from any source. In our state, working together, community has achieved so much.

At the ACLU-WA, we are proud to fight alongside community to safeguard transgender rights and continue to strengthen the legal protections that allow everyone in Washington to live freely and completely as their full selves.

In recognition of Trans Day of Visibility, we honor the accomplishments of community and the milestones reached in the fight for equity and justice for transgender people in Washington.

Here is just a sampling of this vital work over the years:

• In 2006, more than two decades of community advocacy resulted in the legislature passing a bill that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender expression or identity under Washington’s anti-discrimination law.
• In 2019, the Washington state Department of Licensing began offering X as a third gender marker option on driver’s licenses.
• In 2023, with the passage of My Health, My Data in the state legislature, the ACLU-WA joined our community partners in securing data privacy protections for health care data not covered by HIPPA, including some data connected to gender identity and gender-affirming care. This protects the privacy of trans people as well as people seeking reproductive and other forms of healthcare from public or private misuse, including federal overreach and out-of-state attempts to prosecute people for care that is legal here in Washington.
• In January, the ACLU-WA sent a letter to the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association, which is considering repealing a nearly two-decade-old state policy that respects the right of trans students to compete in sports consistent with their gender identity. Our letter points out that the longstanding policy is consistent with state law against discrimination, and we are prepared to take action to defend state law.
• Last year, we joined Legal Voice and QLaw to file a lawsuit on behalf of 10 plaintiffs to stop the implementation of I-2081, a harmful and improperly written initiative that would out LGBTQIA2S+ kids, expose them to harassment and discrimination, and make it harder for them to report abuse at home. Litigation is ongoing and the legislature is currently advancing bills that would address some of the harms created by the initiative.

Despite hard-fought protections, transgender people in our state still face discrimination and harassment in seeking healthcare, employment, housing and in public places. For more information about legal rights for transgender people in Washington, see the ACLU-WA’s guide. Please note that the law in this area is rapidly evolving and we will continue to update this guide.

At the ACLU-WA, we know that Washington’s protections for the rights of transgender people make all of us stronger. We are in the fight for freedom and inclusion together with community — and that is where we will stay, with relentless action and commitment to the rights of all.