After deep consideration of the circumstances Transgender Americans have been experiencing in the United States, I, both as managing editor of the SGN and an out-and-proud Transgender woman, have decided to preface this issue with a statement:After deep consideration of the circumstances

In America today, a battle is currently being fought to convince people to turn against their neighbors, and allow the government take their rights away. Politicians in Washington, DC, and across the country are actively trying to erase the Transgender community, erase immigrant communities, erase communities of color, and ultimately, erase the founding principles of the US Constitution itself.

Every person in the US deserves the chance to live a life of dignity and respect. However, as it stands now, Transgender Americans — alongside many others — are not being given that opportunity.

The recent death of Charlie Kirk has unfortunately become another flashpoint in the discourse around Transgender rights, despite Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter, being a cisgender man, with no evidence to suggest he was politically affiliated with leftist or Transgender causes, despite numerous inaccurate reports by major media outlets and conservative politicians. The fact remains that a majority of US shooters have been proven to be radicalized by white-nationalist ideology before committing their acts of violence.

Despite this, politicians instead are claiming the real danger lies with Transgender people, who are supposedly more dangerous than Al Qaeda and the Taliban. It has even led the FBI to consider designating us as “nihilistic violent extremists,” and a Heritage Foundation spin-off group is petitioning to have “Transgender ideology–inspired violent extremism” added as a domestic terrorism threat category.

Historically, Transgender people have not been given much of a platform to share their stories with the public. This makes it easier to create a bogeyman to scare voters who have never had the chance to meet real, everyday Trans people and hear about their lives directly.

That is why, as a newspaper for the Queer community, readers will find that, in this issue, we have spotlighted more Transgender stories and perspectives. Under the leadership of our Transgender publisher Renee Raketty, the SGN has made it its mission to incorporate more Transgender and other marginalized perspectives. Now more than ever, I believe we need the SGN to return to its original community role, and once again become a vibrant platform on which LGBTQIA+ people of Seattle and the region can have a voice and safe space to collectively advocate for their rights in the face of mounting adversities.