Photo: Governor Gavin Newsom
Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent comments attacking transgender athletes, calling their participation in women’s sports “deeply unfair” during an interview with a known right-wing extremist, the Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner issued the following statement:
“We are outraged by Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent comments attacking transgender athletes during an interview with a known right-wing extremist. Newsom is parroting the same Republican talking points used to marginalize and erase trans people. This is an appalling betrayal from someone who once positioned himself as a champion of equality, and demonstrated such strong leadership on behalf of LGBTQ+ people during the first Trump administration.
Newsom’s words aren’t just shameful—they are hypocritical and dangerous. California has led the nation in protecting transgender youth, from AB 1266 in 2013, securing their right to participate in school sports, to AB 2119 in 2018, guaranteeing access to life-saving gender-affirming care for foster youth. Newsom’s rhetoric undermines these protections and fuels discrimination, exclusion, and violence against trans people.
We won’t tolerate leaders who turn their backs on our community. We demand that Governor Newsom immediately apologize for the harm he has caused, meet with transgender advocates to educate himself on this important issue, and prove that he is aligned with the LGBTQ+ community and not Trump’s hate-mongering. Anything less than Governor Newsom proving himself an advocate for trans rights is unacceptable and puts lives at risk.
Trans rights are not up for debate. Governor Newsom must decide if he truly is an ally, or just another politician willing to sacrifice our community to pursue their own political aspirations.”
