President Biden marked Trans Day of Visibility by condemning “violence” and “attacks” against transgender people, sticking to the Democratic Party narrative without mentioning the recent deadly school shooting by a woman who identified as a man.
The president declared Friday that “today, across our country, MAGA extremists are advancing hundreds of hateful and extreme state laws that target transgender kids and their families.”
“No one should have to be brave just to be themselves,” said Mr. Biden. “Let me be clear: These attacks are un-American and must end. The bullying, discrimination, and political attacks that trans kids face have exacerbated our national mental health crisis.”
He listed his administration’s efforts to promote rights based on gender identity; address “anti-transgender violence,” and end “the crisis of violence against transgender Americans.”
The statements were standard Democratic boilerplate and would have seemed unexceptional but for Monday’s deadly assault on The Covenant School in Nashville, where three adults and three 9-year-old students were killed by a shooter described by police as transgender.
“This should be a Day of Visibility for the Christian victims of the trans shooter. Since the Biden regime wants you to forget them, here they are, remember them: Katherine Koonce, Mike Hill, Cynthia Peak, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney,” tweeted Claremont Institute spokesperson Nick Short.
Mr. Biden’s comments came a day after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was accused of tone-deafness for declaring that “our hearts go out to those in the trans community, as they are under attack right now.”
Conservative media critic Stephen L. Miller responded: “Anyone else attacked this week?”
Weird, anyone else come under attack this week? https://t.co/eRdALL8IMa
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 30, 2023
Others pushing back included Jim Hanson, president of the national security strategy company WorldStrat.
“CORRECTION: It was Christian school kids under attack,” tweeted Mr. Hanson. “The terrorist was trans.”
Said conservative pundit Ian Miles Cheong: “What about a day for the victims of the Nashville mass shooting?”
Graham Allen, host of the Dear America podcast, asked: “When will you stand with Christians as they were violently targeted and murdered?!”
International Transgender Day of Visibility began in Europe in 2009. In 2021, Mr. Biden became the first U.S. president to issue a proclamation declaring March 31 to be Transgender Day of Visibility.
“On Transgender Day of Visibility, we celebrate the strength, joy, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know,” Mr. Biden said. “Transgender Americans deserve to be safe and supported in every community.”
Mr. Biden ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff this week to honor victims of the Nashville massacre. First lady Jill Biden also attended a vigil in Nashville after the shooting.
In his remarks Monday, Mr. Biden called the shooting “heartbreaking” and issued a plea for tougher gun-control measures.
“We have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping at the very soul of this nation. We have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons,” Mr. Biden said.
• Jeff Mordock contributed to this report.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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