(C) Verite News New Orleans This story was originally published by Verite News New Orleans and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . ‘You can not erase us’: Activists demand that New Orleans provide sanctuary from anti-trans legislation [1] ['Drew Costley', 'Minh Ha', 'More Drew Costley', 'More Minh Ha', 'Verite News'] Date: 2024-04-01 Hundreds of people marched through the French Quarter on Sunday (March 31) demanding local leaders take a stance against a recent wave of proposed state legislation aimed at curtailing the rights of transgender people. The march took place during the annual Trans Day of Visibility, an international holiday celebrated since 2009 to recognize the contributions of the community to society and raise awareness of the discrimination trans people experience. As part of the event, the protestors issued a demand to city leaders to adopt policies that would shield residents from proposed anti-trans laws coming out of the state Capitol, turning New Orleans into a “sanctuary city” for transgender people. “Not the church, not the state, trans people will decide our fate,” protestors chanted as they walked up Royal Street. Other chants called for Republican politicians to leave trans youth alone, drawing parallels between the fights for access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care, which the state of Louisiana has banned for minors. Activists also took time to honor trans activists of the past, including the late Marsha P. Johnson. Much of the march took place along the same route as Sunday’s Gay Easter parade, scheduled for later that day. As a result, the protestors were met with cheers and revelry from people lining the streets ahead of the popular parade, which has been held in the city for more than 20 years. “It was a really magical moment seeing so many people screaming in support of us and hearing what we’re talking about and still supporting us,” said Ka’Sha Fenceroy, an organizer for the group Trans Queer Youth NOLA. “I’m just really thankful that I’m a part of a community like this and have the luxury of being able to experience a moment like this.” Sunday was the first Trans Day of Visibility since ultra-conservative Gov. Jeff Landry — who has been an outspoken opponent of LGBTQIA+ rights — took office and the law banning youth from receiving gender-affirming care in Louisiana went into effect in January. And the day came amid new and renewed attempts to take away even more rights from transgender people and the wider LGBTQIA+ community in the state, including a bill introduced for the current legislative session that would codify a definition of biological sex in state law and use that definition to regulate the use of public school restrooms, detention facilities and domestic violence shelters. Kenisha Harris, a founding member of BreakOUT!, a group that works to end criminalization of LGBTQIA+ youth in New Orleans and was part of the coalition that organized the march, said Trans Day of Visibility is more important now than it ever has been. “Once again, we have to let our voices be heard and say, ‘No more. You will not discriminate against my body. You will leave our trans children, our trans siblings, alone. They are allowed to live and have productive lives,” she said. “We are trying to send a message to the GOP, especially Jeff Landry, that you can not erase us.” A sanctuary for trans lives In October, when Landry easily won the gubernatorial election, trans activists said they were preparing to fight an onslaught of anti-trans policy and sentiment they’d been experiencing — all expected to worsen under a Republican governor and state legislative supermajority. At Sunday’s march, protestors spoke extensively about one of the first major efforts in that fight — a demand that New Orleans become a sanctuary city for transgender people. Organizers of the march said the city of New Orleans could become a sanctuary city by creating more local protections for trans rights, refusing to enforce anti-trans legislation being passed by the state and investing more money to improve the quality of life for trans residents. Such policies would be similar to the ones adopted by cities across the United States over the past several years, including New Orleans, to protect undocumented immigrants from federal policies and enforcement strategies and improve their access to social services. In March, the city council in Sacramento, California passed a resolution that declared the city a sanctuary for transgender people. Local activists want the city of New Orleans to pledge not to enforce bans on youth gender-affirming health care and trans participation in sports that match their gender identity, in addition to any other anti-trans legislation signed into law in Baton Rouge. PHOTOS: Scenes from the Trans Day of Visibility march Participants prepare nonbinary flags at Washington Square Park before the Trans Day of Visibility march on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News Participants hold signs and flags as they listen to speeches before the march at Washington Square Park on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News Participants listen to speeches made before Trans Day of Visibility march at Washington Square Park on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News Cobella Nicole (left) gives Dakota Morrow (right) a flower during the Trans Day of Visibility march on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News Ed Abraham (right) gives a participant a flower during the Trans Day of Visibility march on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News March goers hold a “Resist Landry” banner as they walk through the French Quarter on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Trans Day of Visibility march goers turn onto Bourbon Street on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News Ka’Sha Fenceroy (center) leads the Trans Day of Visibility March through the French Quarter. Fenceroy is an organizer with the group Trans Queer Youth NOLA. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News Trans Day of Visibility march goers walk on Bourbon Street of the French Quarter, holding LGBTQ flags and signs as passersby watch on on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News Passersby watch as the march makes its way back to Frenchmen Street in the Marigny on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News Passersby take photos of the march as it makes its way through the French Quarter on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Credit: Minh Ha/Verite News “Our goal is to get the city to commit to not enforcing the discriminatory bills that are passed in Louisiana,” said Quest Riggs, a member of the Queer and Trans Community Action Project. Riggs said the activists pushing for New Orleans to become a sanctuary city are worried about how the presence of the Louisiana State Police could limit whether the city does or doesn’t comply with anti-trans state laws. Earlier this year, Landry and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced the creation of Troop NOLA, a permanent deployment of state troopers in New Orleans. The move alarmed some civil rights advocates in the city. The Louisiana State Police is currently facing a federal civil rights investigation over an alleged pattern of excessive force and discrimination. And Troop NOLA will not be subject to federal court oversight as part of the long-running New Orleans Police Department consent decree — a court settlement between the NOPD and the U.S. Department of Justice that’s meant to ensure constitutional policing in the city. “It’s certainly something that’s concerning to us and that we want to confront openly,” they said. Name change, broader mission for local group Among the organizers of the march was the New Orleans-based Real Name Campaign, which announced an expansion of its mission — and a new name for itself — on Sunday. The group, founded in 2019 to help trans people legally change their names, achieved its first victory the following year when it got the Orleans Parish Civil District Court to reduce filing fees for a legal name change from $506 to $250. Since then, the group has advocated for improved quality of life for transgender people in Louisiana and, Riggs said, eventually its mission outgrew its original name. The push for New Orleans to become a sanctuary city is an example of the organizing work that goes beyond the original scope of the group. So on Sunday, the group announced on Instagram that it will now be called the Queer and Trans Community Action Project and officially expand its mission. “Our goal is to build a movement that can show the maximum opposition to the policies that Landry and Trump are trying to impose on us,” Riggs said. “That will require doing work at every level of government and civil society as much as we can to build unity against the forces we feel trying to push our communities back into the closet.” The group is holding its first meeting, a community forum, on April 21 at 12:30 pm at the New Orleans Pride Center. Related Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. 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