House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senators Charlie Crist
and Bernie Sanders have hung transgender pride flags outside their
Capitol Hill offices.
Sunday is International Transgender Day
of Visibility.
Representatives Ayanna Pressley, of
Massachusetts, Jennifer Wexton, of Virginia, Pramila Jayapal, of
Washington, Andy Levin, of Michigan, and Lori Trahan, of
Massachusetts, also showed their support on social media. All of the
lawmakers are Democrats.
“Discrimination has no place in our
society,” Sanders, who is vying for the 2020 Democratic
presidential nomination, tweeted. “I am proud to display this flag
as a symbol of my support for transgender people across the country.
We must stand with transgender people in all of our communities.”
Crist, who in 2012 switched parties and
who as the Republican governor of Florida was opposed to LGBT rights,
including allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt children, also
tweeted support.
He captioned a photo of himself
standing next to the transgender flag outside his office: “Proud to
display @TransEquality's Transgender Pride Flag outside of my office
during #TransVisibilityWeek & proud to have voted today against
the President's ban on transgender service members. The trans
community deserves our support today & always. #WontBeErased.”
(Related: House
approves resolution calling Trump's ban on transgender troops
“discriminatory.”)
The National Center for Transgender
Equality (NCTE) provided the flags for members of Congress to
display, NBC
News reported.
“Transgender people are in every
town, every city, and every district,” NCTE spokesperson Gillian
Branstetter told NBC News in an email. “We wanted to make it clear
to every member of Congress that we are their constituents and our
rights can no longer be ignored.”