Edmonton—Driven by lived experience and a desire to create safer spaces for future generations of Albertans, Edmonton’s trans and LGBTQIA2+ community is coming together in a show of solidarity. At 12 noon today, activists, allies, and community members will rally in support of trans youth at Dr. Wilbert Mcintyre Park.
“If it was not for the teachers I had supporting me, I would have been alone. Trans youth deserve to have the support necessary to thriving and surviving. With who and what I have lost, I am not willing to lose any more of the right to my existence.” – Rowan Morris, founder of Trans Rights YEG.
Trans Rights YEG is calling for an immediate rollback of the newly-announced policies by the United Conservative Party, which seek to effectively ‘out’ trans and non-binary youth to their parents, regardless of personal safety, while also preventing access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy to youth, even if they have received parental permission to pursue medical supports. Such policies, the most restrictive in Canada, were created without consultation from community members, teachers, or trans youth themselves.
Those seeking to show solidarity for trans youth are encouraged to join activists for today’s rally, to write to their local elected officials, and to raise their voices against harmful, anti-trans rhetoric.
“Children’s rights matter. Using trans children as a way to pander to a small political base is despicable, and these children should not be having their very lives, and their access to safety, politicized.” – Alexandra Ages, community member.
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Trans Rights YEG is a grassroots coalition led by and for trans community leaders, seeking to create community and empower solidarity in Edmonton, Alberta.
For more information, please contact:
Trans Rights YEG
Media Liason, Myles Dykes
transrightsyeg@gmail.com