Cook County Commissioner Kevin B. Morrison today passed a resolution to condemn the Trump Administration's Treatment of Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Intersex Individuals.
A public hearing was held on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 to address the issue. Speakers included Kim Hunt from the Pride Action Tank, Vanessa Sheridan from the Center on Halsted, Carolyn Wald from the ACLU, Stephanie Skora from Brave Space Alliance, Myles Brady Davis from Equality Illinois, Kara Ingelhart from Lamda Legal, and the parent of a transgender child.
Commissioner Kevin B. Morrison said, "Today the second largest county in the United States unanimously passed a resolution in support of our transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex community. Cook County is sending a resounding message that the Trump Administration's intolerance and ignorance to this community will not be tolerated. We reject all of the hateful attacks and strongly recommend a future where equal rights are not only recognized but guaranteed under the law."
The resolution opposes the Department of Health and Human Services' proposed definition of gender that would eradicate federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million Americans who identify as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. It also opposes the Trump Administration's ban on transgender and gender non-conforming individuals from serving in the United States military.
"As a military veteran, I oppose the Trump Administration's ban on transgender and gender non-conforming individuals from serving in our military. While serving in the Air Force, I never questioned the gender of the individuals I served with. The United States military should allow any willing and able individual to serve their country," said Commissioner Larry Suffredin.
This resolution establishes Cook County as welcome of all individuals to self-identify and calls on President Trump and the Department of Health and Human Services to stop any attempt to narrowly define gender as biological.
—From a press release
