Trans Day of Visibility and Easter share a date in 2024 ā and right-wingers are losing their minds
A county in the state of Virginia has voted to observe Transgender Day of Visibility this year on Easter Sunday āĀ and right-wing critics are very, very mad about it.
Transgender Day of Visibility is a fixed, annual celebration that occurs on March 31 every year. This is the same date that Easter Sunday falls on this year.Ā
It’s important to note that absolutely no one has “decided” to hold Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday: the latter is a moving feast day which can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.
In Northern Virginia, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted (9-0) to proclaim their support for Transgender Day of Visibility, even though it clashes with Easter Sunday. As you can imagine, not everyone is happy about the decision.Ā
Fox News reported that Stephanie Lundquist-Arora āĀ the Fairfax chapter leader of the Independent Women’s Network, an organisation that works as āa private online forum empowering conservative women to inspire, influence, and impact their communitiesā ā called the decision “reprehensible.”
Other locals complained that Fairfax County was “hijacking Easter.”
Lundquist-Arora wrote for the Washington Examiner, a conservative news outlet based in Washington, that Fairfax Countyās supervisors are turning the āholiest days into a celebration of an ideology that undermines the churchās core convictions.ā
āMembers of the board also used their illogical decision to hijack Easter as an opportunity to celebrate the governing bodyās ideological homogeneity,ā Lundquist-Arora continued.
She claims that the supervisors are using their āillogical decision to hijack Easter.ā
āFairfax County School Board, for example, has designated June as LGBT Pride Month and October as LGBT History Month. The community gets two full months of celebration in our districtās schools. Apparently, that just wasnāt enough.ā
Despite the right-wing criticism, the decision marks a distinctly positive move forward for the state of Virginia.
“I’m just very happy that we’re recognizing a community that has too often been pushed into the shadows and celebrating yet another community within our diverse tapestry here in Fairfax County,” Democrat Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said during the vote, Fox News reported.
Bierman was one of nine members who requested the proclamation. He added he desires to āmake sure that everybody who’s a part of our community feels welcomed, feels loved and feels empowered.ā
This move also arrives amid conservative states enacting anti-trans laws restricting medical access from minors ā this has been the case in Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida.
It’s not the first time that Fairfax County has been in the headlines over its pro-trans stance. Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that a Fairfax County Public Schools student was suing the school board over a trans protection policy.
The lawsuit, filed by the conservative group America First Legal, alleges that protecting the rights of transgender students “violates the rights of others.”
The policy, which allows students to use facilities that match their gender identity and requires the use of a student’s chosen pronouns and name, was said to be at odds with the unnamed studentās religious beliefs.