April 02 2026, 08:15 
Demonstrations for Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) took place across the United States yesterday and over the weekend, even as anti-trans rhetoric reaches an all-time high. Some of the demonstrations took place alongside the massive No Kings protests, while others stood alone at state capitols.
Yesterday alone, the Supreme Court ruled against conversion therapy bans, which particularly affect trans youth, and Wisconsin only narrowly avoided 5 anti-trans bills being signed into law because of the veto power of Gov. Tony Evers (D). While the Trump administration and state legislatures are working to harm trans people, these demonstrations can inspire hope that the fight will continue.
Related
The right knows conversion therapy bans don’t stop them. Here’s why they fought to repeal them.
Trans activists took to the National Mall in DC
The demonstration on the National Mall in the heart of the Capitol was the second annual TDOV event organized by the Christopher Street Project, an organization that seeks to get more trans people elected to office.
Insights for the LGBTQ+ community
Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
“Visibility is really important,” Tyler Hack, founder of the Christopher Street Project, told The Washington Blade. “Alongside needing to be an active part of society, having public life, and we need to demonstrate that we’re not going anywhere. I mean, we had people from The Hill, Congress members come who weren’t even planning to come and did … We are now learning about what it means to fight for and stand up for our rights.”
Alongside entertainment from queer artists, speeches were given by key trans activists. Those included Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland, who has been at the heart of the case against the trans military ban; the entertainer and activist Peppermint; the executive director for SPARTA Pride, Kara Corcoran; and Illinois Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis.
Idaho’s TDOV gathering was framed by anti-LGBTQ+ laws
Earlier this year, Idaho’s state legislature passed a forced outing bill that is waiting to be signed. Yesterday, the governor signed into law a Pride flag ban that resulted in the flag being removed from the Boise city hall, and a bathroom ban that could see trans people given life in prison.
In the face of that political environment, Trans Affirm Idaho’s TDOV plans went ahead, with a demonstration at the capitol building. The TDOV event included a resource fair aimed at connecting trans people with information that can be hard to track down in the state, as well as speakers, music, and drag performances.
One person at the demonstration told KTVB “we wanted to show that there are trans people in Idaho and you can’t legislate us out of existence.”
The First Annual Manhattan Doll Walk
In Manhattan, trans people took to the streets for the first annual Doll Walk. Organized by trans comedian Ashley Ryan, the Doll Walk celebrated trans women for TDOV, but also directly protested the Trump administration’s anti-trans agenda and their policy requiring passports to show trans people’s sex assigned at birth.
Ryan highlighted the event in an Instagram post, writing, “We marched topless yesterday to bring attention to the fact that the Trump Administration and Supreme Court is changing the gender marker on the passports of all transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex people back to the [sex] assigned at birth, which puts all of us in danger while traveling and leaves us with conflicting government documents.”
“Trans women have taken the most heat over the past year,” Ryan continued, “and so rather than protesting, we followed the government’s orders and appeared topless, ‘as men,’ as a response to the chaos they have caused, while also celebrating ourselves and trans resilience.”
House representatives introduced a resolution recognizing TDOV
While legislatures and the administration have been pushing anti-trans hate, some members of congress have come out in support of the Trans Day of Visibility. Democratic Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA), Sara Jacobs (CA), and out congressman Mark Takano (CA), along with Sen. Brian Schatz (HI) introduced a resolution to commemorate TDOV and to recognize the “many achievements and progress made by people in the transgender and gender non-conforming communities, and affirm their human rights.”
Additionally, Sen. Ed Markey (MA), who has been a consistent ally for the trans community, recognized TDOV online by reposting his speech from outside the Supreme Court in January.
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.