THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

"I want people to know that I exist, that I am human, that I'm just like them, and if they sat down for a conversation with me, they would laugh, agree with me on some things, disagree on others, but have a good time. We have always existed," said Percy Batista-Pedro (he/they), a transgender high school student and a plaintiff in Lambda Legal's lawsuit lambdalegal.org/newsroom/iowa-safe-schools_ia_20231128_ll-aclu-file-lawsuit-to-block-banned-books/ challenging Iowa's Don't Say LGBTQ and banned books law.

Speak OUT will feature transgender and nonbinary youth and adults who are Lambda Legal plaintiffs and staff, as well as community members, activists, and advocates such as Jazz Jennings, Desi (Desmond is Amazing), and others.

"In recent years, we have seen an alarming increase in misinformation and pseudoscience being pushed in courts and statehouses seeking to impose anti-trans legal decisions and policies. Speak OUT aims to elevate the humanity, beauty, and resiliency of trans and nonbinary people. We are excited to share these voices — the brave faces of our siblings, neighbors, and schoolmates. They are living authentic lives, speaking up and challenging discriminatory and hateful legislation and policies spewing forth from states such as Florida and Texas," said Sasha Buchert, Trans and Nonbinary Project Director at Lambda Legal.

The campaign starts this week and will run through Pride season in June, concluding in August. Speak OUT kicks off with a series of videos www.youtube.com/watch to commemorate Trans Day of Visibility, held on Sunday, March 31.

The campaign comes at a time when hundreds of anti-transgender bills lambdalegal.org/blogs/us_20240222_state-legislative-sessions-transgender-rights/ have been introduced in state legislatures across the country and around 23 states have enacted onerous policies denying transgender people — and particularly transgender youth — access to scientifically proven and medically necessary health care. This toxic environment has contributed to a wave of violence against transgender and nonbinary people, including recently leading to the untimely death of Nex Benedict from Oklahoma.

"At a time when our community faces this onslaught of discriminatory bills and mourns the loss of precious lives like #NexBenedict, this campaign becomes not just an act of visibility but a vital testament to our remembrance and resilience. Alongside a rise in visibility, we are experiencing a rapid escalation of transphobia, violence, and discrimination — fueled in part by state legislatures around the country. We hold all those trans and nonbinary people who can't speak out at the heart of this campaign — those individuals for whom safety means it is not yet possible and those souls that we have lost too soon." Buchert added.

In the past year, Lambda Legal has been fighting around the clock to block these attacks, challenging laws in Florida, Texas, Montana, Missouri, North Carolina, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Tennessee that seek to limit access to health care, medical care, restrooms, and participation in sports, and to advance dangerous school climate policies.

This video features two Lambda Legal plaintiffs from current lawsuits, August Dekker lambdalegal.org/case/dekker-v-marstiller/ , challenging Florida's anti-transgender Medicaid ban, as well as Percy Batista-Pedro, one of the youth plaintiffs challenging Iowa's Don't Say LGBTQ+ law in a joint lawsuit with ACLU of Iowa.

Find the first video on www.facebook.com/watch/ , www.linkedin.com/posts/lambdalegal_speakout-transdayofvisibility-nexbenedict-activity-7179099943050129409-g5FT/ , Instagram www.instagram.com/reel/C5DxAQkrso9/ , Tik Tok www.tiktok.com/@lambdalegal/video/7351398570328739118 , and YouTube www.youtube.com/watch , and follow us on social media for more #SpeakOUT campaign videos.

For a full list of Lambda Legal's active lawsuits across the country, visit lambdalegal.org/litigation-library/ .