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Words matter. When wielded maliciously by the powerful, words can harm, even kill. That's why Texas Republican Congressman Keith Self's words chairing a recent House subcommittee hearing deserve special condemnation. Near the hearing's end, Self recognized the committee's newest, most junior member, Delaware Democratic Congresswoman Sarah McBride, the first transgender person elected to Congress. Self purposefully misgendered her:

Self: "I now recognize the representative from Delaware, Mr. McBride."

"Thank you, Madam Chair," McBride replied, misgendering him, without missing a beat.

Self was immediately challenged by Massachusetts Democrat Bill Keating: "Mr. Chairman, could you repeat your introduction again, please?"

Self: "Yes. We have set the standard on the floor of the House, and I'm simply ..."

Keating: "What is that standard, Mr. Chairman? Would you repeat what you just said when you introduced a duly elected representative from the United States of America, please?"

Self: "I will. The representative from Delaware, Mr. McBride."

"Mr. Chairman, you are out of order," Keating said, incensed, asking, "Mr. Chairman, have you no decency?" Keating added, "You will not continue with me unless you introduce a duly elected representative the right way."

Self quickly adjourned the hearing. His attempt to demean McBride was the latest abuse heaped on her since her November election win, flowing from President Trump's constant incitement of anti-trans hatred to rally his MAGA base. Since Trump's inauguration, he's issued at least eight executive orders and memoranda targeting trans people.

Back in July 2023, speaking on the Democracy Now! news hour early in her congressional campaign, Sarah McBride anticipated the hostility she'd face if elected:

"Let the pettiness of these far-right-wing politicians contrast with our focus on progress. Let their cruelty contrast with our compassion. Let the diversity of our humanity be more fully seen in the halls of Congress and to help reinforce that trans people are part of the rich fabric of America, that we have something to offer, that we are talented, thoughtful, effective legislators."

Laws targeting transgender people are being debated in statehouses nationwide. The latest data from Trans Legislation Tracker lists 738 bills in the 2025 pipeline, federally and in every state except Vermont. Of these, 22 have become law, 39 have failed, and 677 are still under consideration. The number of such bills being introduced has shot up exponentially in recent years. McBride explained this surge on Democracy Now!:

"Ultimately, these laws that seek to restrict access to medically necessary health care for transgender people, the laws we're seeing censoring topics in schools, are all part of a cruel and concerted agenda that is meant to distract from the fact that Republicans have absolutely no policy agenda to address the needs of workers and families in this country. This is part of an ongoing strategy that the far right wing has attempted to utilize throughout generations, which is to seek to divide and conquer. And trans people are their new target."

This targeting fuels violence against trans people. While statistics are scattered and incomplete, over the last decade, at least 200 trans people have been murdered in the U.S., mostly trans women of color.

There are remarkable success stories amidst this deluge of hate. Zooey Zephyr is a trans woman elected to the Montana House of Representatives. Last week, she spoke against one of this session's 24 anti-trans bills, one targeting "Drag story hours" and other performances:

"Here I am again to rise on another bill targeting the LGBTQ community. ... At its very core, drag is a beautiful art. Drag has a deep history in this country. [It] led to the police raiding an LGBTQ bar in New York and to the Stonewall riots, one of the most important civil rights moments in my community's history. ... My life is not a fetish. My existence is not a fetish. I was proud a month ago to have my son up in the gallery here, many of you on the other side met him. When I go to walk him to school, that is not a lascivious display, that is not a fetish, that is my family. This is what these bills are trying to come after, not obscene shows somehow getting in front of children. ... We have laws for that. This is a way to target the trans community. ... Please vote no."

Next, a Republican legislator, also a mother, joined Zephyr in opposition to the bill. Ultimately, 13 Republicans joined the Democrats, defeating the bill.

Several lawsuits have successfully blocked, at least temporarily, some of Trump's anti-trans executive orders. But while the court battles proceed, the lives of transgender people are still at risk. Now is the time for organizing and unflinching solidarity, so that, facing rising authoritarianism, we don't end up paraphrasing the anti-Nazi German theologian Pastor Martin Niemoller, "First they came for trans Americans, but I said nothing. Then they came for me."

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Amy Goodman is the host of "Democracy Now!," a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 1,400 stations. She is the co-author, with Denis Moynihan and David Goodman, of the New York Times best-seller "Democracy Now!: 20 Years Covering the Movements Changing America."

(c) 2025 Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan

Distributed by King Features Syndicate