Erin Reed

Independent LGBTQ+ journalist, mom, D&D DM. Tips: ko-fi.com/erininthemorn // Booking & content: erinreedwrites.com // Venmo erin888

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Last Notes

2025-03-03 02:02:35

10. Lastly, EITM is an award-winning journalism outlet, trans led, covering LGBTQ+ issues every day. You can subscribe to support our journalism at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Erin In The Morni...

2025-03-03 02:00:33

3. “Intelligence activities” is a loosely defined term to describe any kind of information collection and analysis that the government could use to take action. In practice, “intelligence activities” often violate the civil liberties of marginalized groups and stymie political dissent.

2025-03-03 02:00:33

2. It now reads: “[Office of Intelligence and Analysis] Personnel are prohibited from engaging in intelligence activities based solely on an individual’s or group’s race, ethnicity, sex, religion, country of birth, nationality, or disability.” Notably absent is Sexual orientation/gender identity.
dhs.gov/sites/default/...

2025-03-03 02:00:33

7. Bell warned that identities can be “weaponized” and then “criminalized.” After the 9/11 attacks, law enforcement began spying on mosques and targeting Muslim people and spaces for increased surveillance.

2025-03-03 02:00:33

6. In Florida, for example, Governor Ron DeSantis forced universities to disclose the records of trans patients. In Texas, the state’s Department of Public Safety was ordered to compile a list of people who had recently changed their gender markers on their driver’s license.
Texas attorney general’s offic...

2025-03-03 02:00:33

1. Reports this week revealed that DHS has rescinded guidance banning surveillance based on someone's gender identity or sexual orientation.
We have confirmed those reports.
The latest from S. Baum, who goes over steps you can take to protect yourself.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
DHS Now Allows for Surveillanc...

2025-03-03 02:00:33

8. The surveillance of LGBTQ communities goes back decades, when (allegedly) queer people were purged from government positions as part of the Lavender Scare. Today, some states are returning to this dark era of history.
www.britannica.com/topic/Lavend...
Lavender Scare | History, Cold...

2025-03-03 02:00:33

4. Don Bell, policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), said the renewed policy is alarming, especially within the larger trends of government attacks on the LGBTQ community. This past week alone, about 100 LGBTQ intelligence officials were fired across agencies.
The New McCarthyism: LGBTQ+ Pu...

2025-03-03 02:00:33

5. In 2023, POGO senior investigator René Kladzyk released an extensive report on the ways LGBTQ people are uniquely vulnerable to surveillance. Health care records, DMV documents, social media, internet search histories, and geolocation data from cell phones are just a few areas of targeting.

2025-03-03 02:00:33

9. However, there are steps everyone can take to combat mass surveillance. The Electronic Frontier Foundation offers a surveillance self-defense toolkit on their website. It also has specialized toolkits for LGBTQ youth, journalists, and protesters.
ssd.eff.org
Surveillance Self-Defense

2025-03-01 21:15:05

How about instead of paying the New York Times, you unsubscribe and give your money to independent journalists who cover issues they don’t care about, like the equal treatment of LGBTQ people.
www.ErinInTheMorning.com/subscribe
Subscribe to Erin In The Morni...

2025-03-01 18:32:33

9. The bill passed 54-45. 4 Republicans crossed over to vote against it, the most of any anti trans bill this year in MT.
It will now advance to third reading, where if it passes, it will go to the senate.
Lastly, disclaimer: The author of this article (me) is happily married to Rep Zephyr.

2025-03-01 18:32:33

7. Rep Zephyr: “this is the 6th bill I have had to speak on in 24 hours… You have 2 indecent exposure laws. One, in our where someone is trying to abuse a person, where someone is trying to get sexual gratification… and you have another indecent exposure law where the crime is being trans.”
"The Crime Is Being Trans": Re...

2025-03-01 18:32:33

4. The bill, introduced to target transgender people in locker rooms, bathrooms, and changing areas, creates a stark legal distinction. For most people, indecent exposure is defined as requiring intent to “abuse, humiliate, harass, violate the dignity of, or degrade another.”

2025-03-01 18:32:33

1. Montana’s House has passed an indecent exposure bill that applies only to trans people.
It sets out one standard for cis people that requires intent, and another for trans people that does not.
Trans Rep. Zephyr delivered scathing remarks.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
"The Crime Is Being Trans": Mo...

2025-03-01 18:32:33

2. On Friday, the Montana House of Representatives passed an indecent exposure bill, HB446, that effectively creates two separate legal standards—one for transgender people and one for everyone else.
legiscan.com/MT/drafts/HB...
Montana HB446 | 2025 | Regular...

2025-03-01 18:32:33

3. Under current law, indecent exposure requires intent, such as deliberately streaking across a field or flashing bystanders. However, this bill removes the requirement of intent when applied to transgender individuals, making it possible to criminalize them for existing in certain public spaces.

2025-03-01 18:32:33

10. Lastly, I am an award-winning trans journalist covering LGBTQ+ news every day. You can subscribe to support my journalism at www.ErinInTheMorning.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Erin In The Morni...

2025-03-01 18:32:33

8. Representative Pete Elvram: “As has been mentioned, we have been sitting and listening to these and I’ve been holding my breath… sitting on my hands, wondering at what point will it be enough… when can we just stand up and… man this is enough.”

2025-03-01 18:32:33

5. However, in a separate section specifically addressing transgender individuals, those words are absent. Instead, indecent exposure is defined simply as “exposing intimate parts” to someone of the opposite sex assigned at birth.

2025-03-01 18:32:33

6. As a result, transgender men who have undergone top surgery could face criminal charges for entering a men’s changing room or taking off their shirts at a pool. Transgender women, even those who have had bottom surgery, could be prosecuted.

2025-02-28 16:55:37

6. Other universities in Ohio, as well as those in states impacted by similar bathroom bans, have also expressed their intention to comply with these policies, or else they could lose federal funding for essential programs, such as student scholarships.

2025-02-28 16:55:37

8. Multiple students said the outpouring of support was unprecedented in their time at the university. “The community has really shown their support, so from a community aspect, I don't feel less safe,” said Jordan*, a 19-year-old trans freshman.

2025-02-28 16:55:37

4. After widespread backlash, the university called the signs an “error” and apologized in an email sent to students. The university told CityBeat that the change was indeed in response to the bathroom law.

2025-02-28 16:55:37

3. The week prior, some students had awoken to new signs in their dormitory bathrooms — the “male” and “female” signs were replaced by ones that said “biological female” and “biological male.” The switch happened the day before Senate Bill 104, an Ohio law targeting trans bathroom access.
Ohio SB 104 Legal Update: Wh...

2025-02-28 16:55:37

5. The signs didn’t last 24 hours. “Biological” was blacked out with spray paint. Others were covered up with creative alternatives — a Monopoly-style poster that said “BATHROOM - WHO CARES - JUST GO;” a rallying cry to “bring back our bathrooms,” a utilitarian “go piss girl” meme.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreihirse2mgkzeezaoenyjqodx3txf4as2mskq7vkq7ckvlw272urgi

2025-02-28 16:55:37

7. There are 13 similar bathroom bills currently in place across the country, but the University of Cincinnati appears to be only the only school reported to have added “biological” to some of their signage.

2025-02-28 16:55:37

1. Major news: Remember those "Biological men"/"Biological Women" signs at University of Cincinnati?
They have come down thanks to MASSIVE student protests at the college, which have continued.
The latest from S. Baum.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
www.erininthemorning.com/p/university...
University of Cincinnati Prote...

2025-02-28 16:55:37

10. Lastly, EITM is an award-winning, trans-led journalism outlet with strong LGBTQ+ coverage every day. You can subscribe to support our journalism at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Erin In The Morni...

2025-02-28 16:55:37

9. This is the reality of anti-trans bathroom laws: though Republican legislators want them, students and faculty vehemently oppose them.
Take this good news story to start your weekend.

2025-02-28 16:55:37

2. Protesters inside the Feb. 25 board of trustees meeting at Ohio’s second largest college said they struggled to hear over the chants outside of “DEI will never die!” and “Let us piss where we please!” It marked the second consecutive day of protests at UC.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreihvjct5zhguc5z2765bgvapyfwosfiquuzsgthvghjacuroorknwu

2025-02-28 16:32:39

Watching a new drag ban hearing in Montana and we have new definitions of drag.
These are wild yall.
Look at the definition of drag king. This would ban lots of butch lesbian singers lol.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreieeovbucpqnf6f66maxopgfg5t6ynrra4bzqekh5rqsrjkgegroku

2025-02-28 01:42:45

4. Rep. Steven Holt, a longtime opponent of transgender rights who spearheaded this legislation, told Iowa Public Radio ahead of the legislative votes that the bill’s purpose is to prevent courts from striking down future laws targeting transgender people.
www.iowapublicradio.org/state-govern...
House GOP advances bill to rem...

2025-02-28 01:42:45

8. Lastly, Erin In The Morning is an award-winning media outlet covering LGBTQ+ issues every day. We are trans led, independent. Please subscribe at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Erin In The Morni...

2025-02-28 01:42:45

5. While the hearing took place, protesters filled the halls of the Iowa State Capitol, holding signs warning that the bill "will kill" and chanting that the public "will never be divided." Independent journalist Ryan Fae shared live updates on BlueSky, citing an anonymous source for safety.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:lb5rzms2ky5fmp6clthjwuvx/post/3lj6apwwh722m
#nevent1q…4y3e

2025-02-28 01:42:45

6. Security guards who spoke to the Des Moines Register estimated that over 1,500 protesters were inside the Capitol, with an additional 1,000 entering at some point throughout the day.
www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/p...
Iowa lawmakers pass bill remov...

2025-02-28 01:42:45

3. Both versions of the bill passed along party lines—33-15 in the Senate and 60-35 in the House. The legislation now heads to Republican Governor Kim Reynolds’ desk, where she is widely expected to sign it into law, given her track record of approving multiple anti-trans bills in recent years.

2025-02-28 01:42:45

1. Today, the Iowa Legislature shamefully stripped transgender people from the State Civil Rights Act.
It becomes the first state to ever strip any group from a civil rights act.
There were powerful speeches, and huge protets.
The latest from Mira Lazine.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Iowa Legislature Votes to Stri...

2025-02-28 01:42:45

2. Speeches and protest were powerful today. You can watch trans rep. Aime Wichtendahl's here.
"It pains me to hear the slander, and the fear leveled at the trans community...people who just want to live their lives, to be themselves and to live free of fear. This is a fear that I have known."
House floor debates bill to re...

2025-02-27 22:10:28

Her full speech here with timestamp:
www.youtube.com/live/Fl7kg38...
House floor debates bill to re...

2025-02-27 21:47:17

Live RN: www.legis.iowa.gov/dashboard?vi...
Iowa Legislature - Dashboard

2025-02-27 21:46:25

Watching Aime Wichtendahl speak right now on Iowa's removal of transgender people from civil rights law and I am in tears right now.
She's incredible.
I will do anything I can to clip this speech but if anyone else is doing so please send it.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreie6dbqbqee3pyu6ovfi7kazuegnichlqih33dud2wlh5evfeuacvm

2025-02-27 19:45:56

9. Legal experts widely anticipate that she will strike down the ban, but the issue is likely to reach the Supreme Court in the coming weeks. For now, thousands of transgender service members are left in limbo, forced to make impossible choices.

2025-02-27 19:45:56

8. In response to the ban, Judge Ana C. Reyes issued a order this morning demanding evidence that being transgender is "inconsistent with honesty, humility, and integrity," as the executive order claims.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreid5hfp6ftisdux43oa5alzw2zzdrtvqurhaq2floy3o6kbahllc5m

2025-02-27 19:45:56

5. This is not a waiver for the 12,000–15,000 currently serving—it is a waiver for people who were never at risk of being discharged in the first place, save for those suspected of being trans. For everyone else, the mass purge will begin within the next 30 days if the order is not stopped.

2025-02-27 19:45:56

2. Yesterday, President Donald Trump released his full transgender military ban, applying to all U.S. service members. The policy asserts that being transgender is incompatible with "honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity."
www.courtlistener.com/docket/69583...
Exhibit 1 - 26 Feb 2025 OSD Po...

2025-02-27 19:45:56

1. Media sources are widely reporting Trump's military ban has "a waiver" for trans people.
It does not: It only applies to closeted trans people who have never transitioned and feel no dysphoria.
The ban also forces people to resign or pay back benefits.
Subscribe to support my journalism.
No, Trump's Trans Military Ban...

2025-02-27 19:45:56

3. Mainstream media outlets have widely misreported the ban as containing a "waiver." However, this so-called waiver is no exception at all for any openly trans person. It applies only to individuals who have never transitioned, do not experience dysphoria, and who are willing to remain closeted.

2025-02-27 19:45:56

7. SPARTA, a leading transgender military advocacy organization, estimates that removing 15,000 transgender service members would result in the loss of an $18 billion capital investment, with the Palm Center projecting an additional $1 billion cost to recruit and train replacements.
palmcenterlegacy.org/wp-content/upl...

2025-02-27 19:45:56

4. A transgender person—or someone suspected of being trans—can only seek a waiver under highly restrictive conditions: they must have no gender dysphoria for 36 months while serving, must never have attempted to transition, and must adhere to grooming standards based on their assigned sex at birth.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreidku2tluvbtkau7yiqjqun6dg2rwrw6r3jmr6aeillvsm5ncwcequ

2025-02-27 19:45:56

10. Lastly, I am a transgender journalist covering LGBTQ+ issues every day. You can subscribe to support my journalism at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Erin In The Morni...

2025-02-27 19:36:57

10. Lastly, I am a transgender journalist covering LGBTQ+ issues every day. You can subscribe to support my journalism at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Erin In The Morni...

2025-02-27 19:36:57

8. In response to the ban, Judge Ana C. Reyes issued a order this morning demanding evidence that being transgender is "inconsistent with honesty, humility, and integrity," as the executive order claims.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreifw7eq7absd37wlbfwx5dvf6lvgswekdxlgfcdbo7dxdjl5frquxm

2025-02-27 19:36:57

4. A transgender person—or someone suspected of being trans—can only seek a waiver under highly restrictive conditions: they must have no gender dysphoria for 36 months while serving, must never have attempted to transition, and must adhere to grooming standards based on their assigned sex at birth.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreic5tz2z6as6y5wlo7f4pdm74yekgzeyhcyvtvldn346uby2bd4d3u

2025-02-27 19:36:57

2025-02-27 19:33:09

8. In response to the ban, Judge Ana C. Reyes issued a order this morning demanding evidence that being transgender is "inconsistent with honesty, humility, and integrity," as the executive order claims.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreictxetggtqckcjacqdbhbpwezrssg2wgtgbq2oc3pvnkyd42icaom

2025-02-27 19:33:09

4. A transgender person—or someone suspected of being trans—can only seek a waiver under highly restrictive conditions: they must have no gender dysphoria for 36 months while serving, must never have attempted to transition, and must adhere to grooming standards based on their assigned sex at birth.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreih6j6nnjawz2du6zzntumb7hp5qwlhaxylv5bhnvaassmrxibgd5e

2025-02-27 19:33:09

2025-02-27 18:51:59

There is no "waiver" to the trans military ban.
The only waiver is for people who have NEVER attempted to transition, who have remained closeted, and will continue to remain closeted.
That's not a waiver for trans people in the military. It's a waiver for people who are suspected of being trans.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreies3a2qqrs2zzqwqctbl3shktdvqqookghaqtnivn37wwfwlyyrpq

2025-02-27 16:38:18

I've had a lots of tips about a bill in Texas that would ban gender affirming care for everyone, including adults.
I have not reported on it, because it only has a single sponsor, and its likelihood of passing is low. Given the saturated news environment, it's not yet a major threat.
That said...

2025-02-27 16:38:18

Here is the bill itself, and I am watching it closely in case it has any movement. Texas has about 50 anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year, so lots will continue to move and I'll be there when things get hearings or pass committee.
capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/...
89(R) HB 3399 - Introduced ver...

2025-02-27 14:36:56

Finally.
A major media outlet has finally reported on Trump’s total travel ban for transgender visa applicants seeking the United States.
I had to scream for two days to get someone else to report on it.
It is NOT just for athletes.
www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...
State Department visa policy c...

2025-02-27 03:15:34

Breaking: Trump's full trans military ban has just dropped. Quickly reading it, it appears to be a full separation from the military for all transgender military members, and states being trans is inconsistent with "honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity."
A sad day for this nation.
Exhibit 1 - 26 Feb 2025 OSD Po...

2025-02-27 03:08:01

If you want to contact your Democratic senator, please do so by finding their number here:
myreps.datamade.us
My Reps

2025-02-27 03:08:01

ALERT! It just broke that tomorrow, the Senate will attempt a procedural vote on a transgender sports ban.
It will take 7 Democrats breaking rank in order to have enough votes to pass cloture.
Democrats held very strong in the House and only lost two votes.
CALL YOUR DEMS! (info in next post)
Senate sets up vote to restric...

2025-02-27 01:07:25

This is just a very hard space to be in right now. So much bad is happening and my DMs are filled with story tips that would have made national news 3 years ago that aren’t even blips right now because of bigger, worse stories.

2025-02-27 01:07:25

I have to say it is a special kind of hell to have watched all of this anti-trans rhetoric and legislation build up for the last 5 years in states and to report on it today.
It feels like a nonstop hose of the worst things imaginable. There are dozens of stories I still haven’t gotten to.

2025-02-26 23:38:34

We're going to get a two page NYTimes spread on this right?

2025-02-26 23:38:07

I'm sure SEGM, ADF, Genspect, Leor Sapir, Jesse Singal, Ben Ryan, etc are all going to come out against this right?

2025-02-26 23:37:31

The New York Times: "We need more data on trans healthcare, it shouldn't be allowed"
Trump: "Fuck the very concept of data"
NYT: *crickets*
www.statnews.com/2025/02/25/c...
CDC will no longer process tra...

2025-02-26 22:26:36

You can read my reporting on this here, where I actually show the cables.
www.erininthemorning.com/p/marco-rubi...
Marco Rubio May Have Just Bann...

2025-02-26 22:23:43

The reporting on the trans travel visa ban is criminal.
It does NOT only affect transgender athletes.
The cables CLEARLY say it affects all trans people. They can reject visas on point 6 of anyone who is requesting a visa that does not match their assigned sex at birth.
https://shimeji.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy&cid=bafkreie2l4btwajdnq4zb4kd6hdlo2j6kvbsdsgvdmwqwtc5tsao5jkk5m

2025-02-26 21:23:42

Also told that they may be active again but those who were using them now may have to re-add them.

2025-02-26 21:22:07

Note: This is for PAID google workspace accounts that this occurred.

2025-02-26 21:12:10

I'm told its for people with paid google workspaces, not personal accounts.

2025-02-26 21:09:24

Looks like pronouns are still up for some people but definitely down/removed for others.

2025-02-26 21:05:03

I am currently getting multiple reports that Google, in an attempt to remove pronouns in the US government email accounts, just removed pronouns for every private workplace account in the world.
If you use Google workspaces, go check on that and confirm for me.
Overcompliance leads to stupidity.

2025-02-26 17:09:51

6. What we have just witnessed is the beginning of an LGBTQ+ purge in government, with a particular focus on transgender employees. Pride ERG chats and LGBTQ+ support groups are commonplace in workplaces across the United States, including within federal agencies.

2025-02-26 17:09:51

7. This is to say nothing of the real-world impact of purging so many trans and queer intelligence officials. As writer Leah McElrath noted in a post on Bluesky, “Someone might want to let Chris Rufo know that many of the best coders, hackers, and cryptographers are LGBTQ.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:gvda6fem6r7selm4gzjjww4a/post/3lizsqnc2mk2k
#nevent1q…svk7

2025-02-26 17:09:51

2.In the early 1950s, a moral panic over gay people swept across America. LGBTQ+ individuals were cast as threats—vulnerable to blackmail, labeled “deviant sex perverts,” and accused of colluding with communist governments.
This was used by McCarthy to justify removal of 7-10k gay govt workers.
Executive Order 10450: Eisenho...

2025-02-26 17:09:51

10. Lastly, I am a transgender independent journalist covering LGBTQ+ news every day. You can subscribe to support my journalism at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Erin In The Morni...

2025-02-26 17:09:51

3. Now, it appears we are witnessing its revival: 100 intelligence officials were just fired for participating in an LGBTQ+ support group chat—an internal network not unlike employee resource groups (ERGs) at most companies.
Gabbard Says More Than 100 Int...

2025-02-26 17:09:51

8. These firings also come just days after the quiet repeal of protections meant to prevent intelligence agencies from spying on LGBTQ+ people solely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
DHS Scraps Ban on Surveillance...

2025-02-26 17:09:51

4. The firings stem from out-of-context chat logs leaked by far-right commentator Chris Rufo on Monday. Sources tell EITM that the chat functioned as an ERG-adjacent LGBTQ+ safe space, where participants discussed topics like gender-affirming surgery, hormone therapy, and queer issues.

2025-02-26 17:09:51

9. That the Trump administration is using a roundabout pretext like ERG chat participation to justify a purge is not surprising; it was all but a stated goal. The only way to stop another Lavender Scare is to be loud now.

2025-02-26 17:09:51

1. Today, the NYT has reported that 100 members of an ERG-adjacent LGBTQ+ chat in the intelligence community have been fired.
This is a new McCarthyism, a new lavender scare meant to remove LGBTQ+ in government, and the way this was done should shake us all.
Subscribe to support my journalism.
The New McCarthyism: LGBTQ+ Pu...

2025-02-26 17:09:51

5. Eisenhower and McCarthy would have killed for such an easily accessible list of LGBTQ+ federal employees—and the flimsy pretext to purge them.
Within a day, DNI Tulsi Gabbard announced that all participants in the “obscene, pornographic, and sexually explicit” chatroom would be terminated.

2025-02-25 19:58:25

I have direct links to all memos, which my readers can read on the site.

2025-02-25 19:58:03

To answer some quick questions about my latest story:
- It does not apply to the Visa Waiver Program as far as I can see
- It does not impact American citizens
- The ban exclusively impacts transgender foreigners seeking visas in the United States
- It is far more extensive than reported elsewhere
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy/post/3lizmxgcagk2a
#nevent1q…udda

2025-02-25 19:47:40

4. Section 6 appears to establish a new U.S. policy requiring visa applicants to list their assigned sex at birth—a rule that could effectively bar entry for a vast number of transgender travelers with updated documents.

2025-02-25 19:47:40

5. If enforced broadly, this would mean that many transgender people seeking visas are, as of now, unable to enter the United States. The timing is particularly striking, as it coincides with the lead-up to World Pride, set to take place in Washington, D.C. this year.

2025-02-25 19:47:40

9. History is littered with examples of marginalized groups whose movement was curtailed as a precursor to broader persecution. Lawmakers, activists, and allies must recognize the gravity of this moment—before it’s too late.

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10. Lastly, please support independent, trans-led journalism. You can subscribe to support the work we do here at www.erininthemorning.com/subscribe.
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6. The memo comes as transgender people within the United States face increasing restrictions on travel documents. While they were previously allowed to update gender markers on passports, many now report that their applications for renewals or new issuances are being indefinitely held.

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8. Travel restrictions represent one of the most alarming escalations in the ongoing assault on transgender rights. What began with state-level bans on gender marker updates for driver’s licenses has now expanded into a potential nationwide travel ban on foreign trans entrants who are seeking visas.