Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Sends Message of Love and Support to Trans Youth

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is standing ten toes down in her advocacy for transgender kids. Over the years, she’s built a strong reputation for fighting for marginalized communities, especially queer folks.

Trans kids have become targets in policy debates across the country. Many states have introduced bills threatening to punish teachers or counselors for acknowledging a student’s gender identity. With all this hostility dominating the headlines, Ocasio-Cortez is reminding trans youth that they are seen, valued, and welcome.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has always defended trans youth.

In a TikTok Q&A posted on Oct. 12, Ocasio-Cortez responded to a worried teenager facing a wave of hate. “I know this time is terrifying for so many people, and it feels hard to know where your place is, especially in politics, where it feels like people in both parties are blaming you for everything that’s happening,” she said. “I just want you to know that they couldn’t be more wrong.” She even warned anyone who “wants to be mean” that they “shouldn’t be mean around me.”

Her message to trans youth aligns with her long record of supporting LGBTQIA+ rights. In October 2022, after homophobic hecklers confronted her at an LGBTQIA+ event, she defiantly tweeted, “NY-14 will ALWAYS have a champion for LGBTQIA+ people on my watch. Period,” according to The Guardian. As a member of Congress, she co-sponsored the 2023–25 Equality Act, a sweeping civil rights bill that would ban discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

At the Capitol, Ocasio-Cortez has used her platform to defend trans kids. During a December 2023 House education hearing on restrictions in girls’ sports, she pressed Republican lawmakers and later took to social media. “Targeting trans children for playing sports makes all women, whether trans or cisgender, less safe,” she wrote on X. She added that forced “sex testing” of athletes is “regressive, invasive, discriminatory, and a fundamental violation of our privacy as women… This is shameful.”

Attacks on trans rights continue to rise across the U.S.

Over the past year, Republican lawmakers at both state and federal levels have introduced hundreds of anti-trans measures targeting kids, according to Trans Legislation Tracker. These include bans on gender-affirming care, new school restrictions, and bathroom and sports limitations.

Health care bans have spread the fastest. Since 2021, about 28 states — mostly with Republican-controlled legislatures — have adopted laws restricting or banning puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries for transgender youth, according to WHYY. “The federal government is running a cruel and targeted harassment campaign against providers who offer lawful, lifesaving care to children,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

Meanwhile, KFF reports that roughly 40% of U.S. trans youth now live in a state where these bans are active. Governors and state education boards are also rolling out new rules. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed laws forcing trans students to use bathrooms matching their sex at birth and allowing teachers to refuse to use a student’s pronouns, according to Education Week.

Despite the attack on trans rights, various political leaderslike AOC continue to use their platforms to uplift trans youth. And it’s important for us all to continue to use our voices to stand up for what’s right.

Do you think more politicians should publicly stand up for trans kids? Comment below!

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