In the face of the White House’s work to decimate transgender rights and reverse the progress of the LGTBQIA+ movement, Baltimore’s trans and nonbinary community is fighting back.
Dozens of activists descended upon City Hall on Monday for Trans Day of Visibility, where local officials assured them that the city would embrace and protect the community in response to President Donald Trump’s transphobic rhetoric and executive orders. Yet, they didn’t show up simply to let their presence be known. The day instead served as a reverberating call to action.
“We are the foundation,” said Renee Lau, administrative assistant and senior projects coordinator at Baltimore Safe Haven, a local nonprofit serving the trans community. “We can be the second Stonewall. We can do it through passive resistance.”
Activists’ crosshairs were largely set on the federal government rather than the city on Monday, which some praised for its work to protect the local trans community.
Since taking office, Trump has issued various sweeping executive orders targeting trans Americans. The measures have included only recognizing two sexes, scrubbing anything referencing “gender ideology” from federal government websites and, in a move that could spell death for trans inmates, forcing trans women into male prisons.
The administration has also put a halt to responding to requests for “X” markers on passports and attempted to ban trans individuals from serving in the military, though the latter remains mired in legal challenges.
City officials declared that they will shield the community against such attacks.
“We are living through a moment where we have a president and an administration in Washington that wants to wipe trans people off the face of the Earth,” said City Council President Zeke Cohen. “Make no mistake, this is the most hostile administration, at least in my lifetime, that we’ve ever experienced. And that’s why it’s so important that here in Baltimore we have a mayor, a city council and a community that says everyone is welcome here.”
“Make no mistake, this is the most hostile administration, at least in my lifetime, that we’ve ever experienced. And that’s why it’s so important that here in Baltimore we have a mayor, a city council and a community that says everyone is welcome here.”
City council president Zeke Cohen
In response to threats from the Trump administration and a lack of momentum in the Maryland General Assembly, activists emphasized that they must inundate lawmakers with calls and make their demands known.
Alexis Blackmon, interim director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, noted there are many issues facing the trans community, including a lack of funding for housing, health care and workforce development.
“These folks work for us,” said Alexis Blackmon, interim director of the city’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. “The call to action today is about us coming together to formulate a community coalition, where we ask for funding to fund the things that are necessary.”
In addition to funding for trans services, activists said there also needs to be more local organizations serving the LGBTQIA+ population such as Baltimore Safe Haven.
However, the Trump administration’s moves targeting diversity-related initiatives and public health programs have already had a brutal impact on funding.
Last week, the administration announced it would cancel billions of dollars meant for local health departments, including money for services related to mental health, substance use and infectious disease prevention. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has also issued a directive to pause federal grants and loans until recipients align with the administration’s far-right ideology.
In a statement, Mayor Brandon Scott’s office said the threats could hinder the city’s services to trans residents. The health department, which receives 45% of its budget from federal funding, offers sexual health and wellness clinics, among other services.
“The hateful, transphobic rhetoric we’re seeing from the highest levels of federal government is unacceptable — as are regressive policies that seek to do direct harm to our trans and nonbinary neighbors,” a spokesperson said. “Many of these policies threaten essential health care and social services that all Baltimoreans rely on.”
“Mayor Scott will always defend the health, safety, and dignity of all people, no matter who they love or how they identify. As he has said, ‘Baltimore is a stronger city when all of us are free to live our lives safely and authentically.’”
While the impact on city services remains unknown, Trump’s actions have already proved detrimental to local nonprofits serving trans residents.
Baltimore Safe Haven had to furlough 10 employees in response to the federal funding pause, said Nicole Wells, the organization’s bilingual case manager. The organization provides harm reduction services, transitional housing and basic necessities such as meals and hygiene products.
That came as the number of trans individuals looking to take sanctuary in Maryland, particularly from red states, has increased nearly three-fold. There are currently more than 300 individuals on the organization’s waiting list.
“We’re just scared at the moment,” Wells said. “We’re scared.”
Though the federal government was the primary target on Monday, organizers also made it clear that the state government’s lack of action was unacceptable.
Activists noted that bills in Annapolis that would beef up protections for the state’s trans population have stalled this legislative session, with no substantive legislation making it to Gov. Wes Moore’s desk.
That includes the Birth Certificate Modernization Act, which aims to streamline the process of updating birth certificates, including adding an “X” gender marker option, and ensure documents don’t display past amendments.
The bill appears slated to die in committee. Activists on Monday said Gov. Wes Moore has failed to be vocal enough about such bills, with Democratic leadership prioritizing other matters at the expense of advancing trans rights.
“The moderate Democrats are starting to back off of all transgender issues,” Lau said. “They don’t want to hear about transgender issues.”
In a statement, Moore’s office pointed to past success in ensuring the safety and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ population.
Last year, legislation known as the Trans Shield Act went into effect, which protects those receiving gender-affirming care and health providers from out-of-state prosecution, building upon a past executive order signed by Moore. The Trans Health Equity Act also became law, requiring Medicaid to cover additional gender-affirming care.
In addition, Moore’s office noted that he has proposed to “double funding in the FY26 budget for hate crime protection — which includes support for community centers that support LGBTQIA+ Marylanders.”
“While the federal government has made it a mission to target transgender people and the larger LGBTQIA+ community, Governor Moore has met with and heard the fears and frustrations of transgender Marylanders and understands their outrage,” spokesperson Carter Elliott said. “The governor is committed to ensuring that Maryland remains a place where every LGBTQIA+ person, including transgender and nonbinary individuals, is safe, supported, and protected.”
“We are proud of our work so far, but our administration knows we have so much more to do – and we will do it together in partnership.”
Despite the efforts cited by Moore’s office, the community must keep fighting, said Charlotte Persephone Hoffman, policy director at the nonprofit Trans Maryland.
“I think that’s easy for us to say, ‘Oh, I’d rather be invisible right now, I’d rather hide from everything that’s happening,’ but we don’t have that luxury right now,” Hoffman said. “I feel like I have to be out, and I have to fight for my community because if we’re not doing it, then the next generation of trans people are going to be in a worse situation than we were growing up.”
“I feel like I have to be out, and I have to fight for my community because if we’re not doing it, then the next generation of trans people are going to be in a worse situation than we were growing up.”
Charlotte Persephone Hoffman, policy director at Trans Maryland.
In lieu of state action, Baltimore officials have already begun working to better gauge the needs of the trans community.
Last week, the Baltimore City Council passed a resolution sponsored by Councilwoman Phylicia Porter calling for an informational hearing on the well-being and needs of the trans community with government agencies and nonprofits.
A date has not yet been scheduled, but Porter emphasized the need to bring together a coalition of partners to figure out ways to better serve the city’s trans population.
“For my entire career, I wanted to make sure that we pay attention not only to those who are seen in this city but also to those unseen in this city,” Porter said. “This is an opportunity for us to bring accountability agencies to share the progress and build upon the work that has been happening. This is also an opportunity for transgender people in Baltimore City to feel seen and to feel heard and also to make sure that the provisions that are set within our city are not only affordable but accountable as well to their very being.”