Hundreds of people marched in Dallas鈥� historically LGBTQ neighborhood Sunday in protest of state and federal policies targeting LGBTQ rights.
Holding signs, waving rainbow-colored flags and chanting slogans like 鈥渨e鈥檙e here, we鈥檙e queer, get used to it,鈥� demonstrators at the Queer and Trans Liberation March protested down Cedars Springs Road in Oak Lawn in response in the current Texas legislative session, as well as a slew of executive orders in the first two months of the Trump administration.
But beyond public policy, the march was about defending against rising anti-LGBTQ attitudes in recent years, said Jacob Reyes, one of the march鈥檚 co-founders.
鈥淲e talk a lot about the legislation, and of course that鈥檚 going to set the community back unfortunately,鈥� said Reyes, who also serves as communications director at Texas Latino Pride and news coordinator for GLAAD.
鈥淏ut the growing sentiment among the population is that trans people don鈥檛 have a right to exist, trans people don鈥檛 exist. That has never been the case. Trans people have always existed. Queer people have always existed.鈥�
Among the more than 90 executive orders signed by Donald Trump since he took office on Jan. 20 are directives to deny passport changes for trans and gender non-conforming people, move trans women into men鈥檚 prisons and ban trans military members 鈥� .
Some of those orders specifically target trans children, including a ban on federal support for youth gender-affirming care and a push to ban schools from supporting kids as they transition.
Proponents of those limits and say anti-trans policies are meant to protect kids, though growing consensus has found .
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 under attack,鈥� said Chandra Lagunas Lewis-Qualls, who self-identified as bisexual. 鈥淚 also have many people in my family that are gay, trans, and they鈥檙e scared.鈥�
Lea Landaverde, who鈥檚 on the board of Texas Latino Pride, said it was important for her and others to march and assert her own rights amid the ongoing push to limit rights for LGBTQ people.
鈥淏y being queer, by being who I am, I鈥檝e lost a lot of family,鈥� Landaverde. 鈥淎nd I stand here today to be with my chosen family, to be here with the people that really want to drive change for our community.鈥�
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has issued his own orders that public universities drop programs intended to help historically marginalized populations 鈥� including gay and trans Texans 鈥� in an ongoing effort to halt diversity, equity and inclusion in school, or DEI.
New reporting from the Texas Newsroom also found .
Other measures target LGBTQ people more broadly, including a and a push to .
Paul DeBenedetto contributed to this report.
