Anything said during the State of the Union is important. This is where the President not only addresses the current state of the country as a whole, but lays out his administrative agenda. One particular section of the speech, however, deserves special mention here. We do these things not only because they're right, but because they make us safer. It was also the first time for the words lesbian or bisexual, for that matter. Like I said above, this is important. This says that this is an Administration that isn't afraid to speak our name, that is willing to put support for members of the LGBT community in the most important annual speech the President makes.
He could have easily weaseled out of it, maybe saying a far more vague "sexual minorities" in its place, or even just sticking to the acronym. After all, every word of this speech is vetted before the President even leaves the White House for the Capitol. That he included it is to send a clear message of support from this President β a President who did mention in this very speech that he has no more campaigns to run and at this point does not need to take any sort of risks.
I feel I should include that this Administration has done quite a bit for transgender people, making the use of the term "transgender" in this speech that much more than lip service. This is an administration that has spoken with the transgender community, has shown its support, and has even hosted the first Transgender Day of Remembrance at the White House itself. This administration has streamlined passports for transgender people, has seen the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Health and Human services speak out on transgender rights, and has seen the Department of Justice clarify that Title VII protections extend to transgender people.
Even the signature bill of this administration, the Affordable Care Act, includes transgender coverage. The law prohibits health insurance companies from discriminating against transgender people. This administration has, unquestionably, made great strides on behalf of the transgender community. Yet, with so much done, so much remains to be done. We have seen anti-transgender violence remain one of the bigger killers of transgender people, with transgender people β particularly transgender women of color β murdered with disturbing regularity.
There have been three anti-transgender murders reported in the United States since the State of the Union. It is hard to cheer words in a speech when people are dying β and their killers remain free. Suicide, too, remains a top killer of transgender people. Leelah Alcorn's death has topped the news, yet she is just one of many. Forty-one percent of transfolks have attempted suicide.
