Brendan Fay, the founder of the New York-based Irish LGBTQ group Lavender and Green Alliance, is speaking out as US President Donald Trump takes aim at the LGBTQ+ community and so-called "gender ideology."
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order that, in part, said it is US policy that there are two sexes - male and female - and that they are "not changeable."
Trump's order goes on to define "gender ideology" as including "the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex."
However, as NPR notes, "transgender and nonbinary people and their allies oppose the term 'gender ideology' as it implies a belief system rather than an identity."
Trump ordered agencies to remove "internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology" and "end the Federal funding of gender ideology."
The US Office of Personnel Management later issued a memo with initial guidance on Trump's "gender ideology" executive order, advising agencies to "take down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology."
On February 13, it emerged that the words “transgender” and “queer” were deleted from text on a National Park Service website for the Stonewall National Monument in New York City, which commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ civil rights.
"LGBTQ+" was also updated to remove the "T," replaced instead with "LGB" or "LGBQ."
KFF notes that there have been multiple legal challenges to Trump's "gender ideology" executive order, and some judicial actions have paused aspects of implementation.
In the wake of Trump's "gender ideology" executive order and the subsequent transgender erasure on the NPS Stonewall website, Co Louth native Fay and his Lavender and Green Alliance joined thousands in the Presidents' Day rally in New York, one of many held across the country protesting Trump on February 15.
Fay said this week: "We respond to the unjust erasure and scapegoating of the transgender community more determined than ever to be visible, raise our voices, tell our LGBT stories, while caring and supporting our transgender family and community from youth to elders.
"A transformation is happening in the heart of America with the dismantling of institutional programs in schools, workplaces, and communities supporting 'diversity, equity, inclusion' (DEI). These undermine support for women, people of color, and LGBT persons.
"The Trump administration, by Executive Order and policy, seeks to scapegoat and render invisible those in our community who are transgender."
Fay continued: "While the 'T' has been removed for now, you cannot undo the facts of LGBTQ history.
"You can’t undo the contributions of transgender pioneers like my friend Yvonne Ritter –a young 18-year-old activist during the Stonewall riots of 1969 who then led a life of nursing and compassion for people with AIDS, and the legendary Marsha P. Johnston, who I came to know while working at Randy Wicker’s Greenwich lamp shop, and Melissa Sklarz, a much-respected elected official here in Queens and one of the leading activists bringing transgender civil rights to New York State.
"All were supporters of our Irish LGBT immigrants when excluded from our parades."
Maya Milton, transgender organizer for the Lavender and Green Alliance, said: “It’s important to come together and be visible when our human rights and our lives are under attack and as the Trump administration divides and polarizes.
"I am proud to be a Transgender Irish American and feel blessed to march with my friends in Lavender and Green Alliance.
"We are speaking up and reaching out to those who feel vulnerable.”
Fay said that since its founding in 1994, the Lavender and Green Alliance has had members who identify as transgender.
"This is an issue that affects many close friends and family," Fay said. "Transgender silencing fosters prejudice, scapegoating, and discrimination."
The Lavender and Green Alliance will be highlighting Irish American LGBT stories as it prepares to participate in the upcoming St. Patrick’s parades in New York with its theme “Éirimid - Amach le Chéile." ("We rise – out together.")
The Alliance will be visible on the Avenues of New York City during the upcoming St. Patrick's Day parades "in greater numbers than ever," and welcomes friends to join them in support and solidarity.
Fay is also calling for political and religious leaders from Ireland to "speak up in support."
Fay said the Lavender and Green Alliance is grateful to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who called the attacks on transgender people "cruel" and, in a statement, said: "Transgender people play a critical role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights — and New York will never allow their contributions to be erased."
This is just cruel and petty.
Transgender people play a critical role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights — and New York will never allow their contributions to be erased. https://t.co/flIi3avXSU
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) February 13, 2025
Fay concluded: "We rise together. We care for one another and continue to work for a future of hope for those coming after us.
"We are not giving up or giving in. Silence is not an option.
"As previous generations of Irish and Irish American LGBTQ persons passed on to us – In the worst of times, we rise with our stories and history.
"We come out loud and proud with courage and love."
You can learn more about the Lavender and Green Alliance on its website.
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