Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton of Virginia thinks transgender people are something special, so she installed a “transgender pride flag” alongside her state flag and Old Glory outside her new D.C. office.
Human Rights Campaign regional field organizer Narissa Rahaman captured the momentous win for trans rights and posted an image to Twitter.
The trans flag is proudly & openly displayed next to the Virginia flag outside @RepWexton’s new office! She said to me, “Did you see the flag?! I think we’re the only office on the Hill with one.” To all her volunteers: the flag is there because of you & for you! Change is here! pic.twitter.com/s0iGgoxOgH
— Narissa Rahaman (@MayorBrown) January 3, 2019
“The trans flag is proudly & openly displayed next to the Virginia flag outside @RepWexton’s new office!” Rahaman wrote. “She said to me, ‘Did you see the flag?! I think we’re the only office on the Hill with one.’ To all her volunteers: the flag is there because of you & for you! Change is here!”
The so-called “Transgender Pride Flag” was created in 1999 by Monica Helms, a trans woman, to differentiate the struggle of transgenders from the broader LGBTQ movement, which rallies around the rainbow flag.
The flag consists of five horizontal stripes, with two blue, two pink and one white, though numerous other variations pay tribute to specific groups within the trans community, including the black trans flag, American trans flag, Israeli trans flag, a Trans Kaleidoscope, and others.
Wexton told the Washingtonian she decided to display the trans flag because she’s an aunt to a transgender child, and “the trans community has been under attack.”
“I wanted to show my solidarity because we are talking about my friends and family,” she said.
The news site contends Wexton was “a consistent proponent of equal rights” for gay and transgender constituents when she served in the Virginia Senate, helping to push through legislation against housing and employment discrimination.
Wexton, a Democrat, replaced Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock, who ironically voted against a ban on transgender people serving in the military, the Washingtonian reports.
She was backed by the Human Rights Campaign during the election, and spokesperson Charlotte Clymer touted Wexton’s trans flag as another big win for the sexually ambiguous.
“From the military to schools to hospitals, the Trump-Pence White House is working overtime in an attempt to erase trans people from the public square,” Clymer said. “The trans flag proudly on display in the Halls of Congress is a sign to our community that we will not be erased.”
Plenty of folks online had a different take.
Transgender representation is your priority? Of all the responsibilities of a Rep. you are prioritizing transgender inclusion?!? If this is who I voted for, then I made a mistake. Disclaimer – I am pro all lives, but more then anything I want a politician for substance not optics
— Side Walk (@fixthatchit) January 4, 2019
“Transgender representation is your priority?” Twitter user Side Walk posted. “Of all the responsibilities of a Rep. you are prioritizing transgender inclusion?!? If this is who I voted for, then I made a mistake.”
I think we all accept that they are human beings. Praising them like they are more special than everyone else and flying their special flag is different that accepting them as human beings. What rights do they not have here already?
— derek schwartz (@derek_mafs) January 5, 2019
“I think we all accept that they are human beings. Praising them like they are more special than everyone else and flying their special flag is different than accepting them as human beings,” Derek Schwartz wrote. “What rights do they not have here already?”
How about you try representing everyone, instead of the 1% .. The only flag the should be hanging outside your office is the American flag.
— Bonnie (@Bonnie4Jesus) January 4, 2019
“How about you try representing everyone, instead of the 1%,” Bonnie added. “The only flag that should be hanging outside your office is the American flag.”
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