Celebrating 15 Years

by Mara Keisling

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1. NCTE opens its doors

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Photo credit: Pixabay

2. NCTE holds its first Congressional lobby day

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Participants in a 2004 Congressional lobby day co-hosted by NCTE. Photo credit: NCTE

3. NCTE leads the charge to get trans people included in federal nondiscrimination legislation

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Mara Keisling on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, November 10, 2007. Source: C-SPAN

4. Congress holds its first hearing on trans issues

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Then-House Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Chairman Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) presiding over a hearing on anti-trans employment discrimination, Jun 26, 2008. Source: NCTE

5. Congress passes the first federal law to explicitly protect trans people

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Then-President Barack Obama speaks at a press conference commemorating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, October 28, 2009. Source: The Obama White House

6. The State Department updates passport gender change policies

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Photo credit: Miguel Lugo

7. “Injustice at Every Turn,” the report of the groundbreaking National Transgender Discrimination Survey, is published

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A banner from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey website.

8. HUD secretary speaks at NCTE’s anniversary event, becoming the first cabinet secretary to address a trans audience

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Then-Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan speaking at NCTE’s eighth anniversary event, November 15, 2011. Photo credit: NCTE

9. Vice President Joe Biden calls the fight for trans equality the “civil rights issue of our time”

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Then-Vice President Joe Biden at a rally in 2012. Photo credit: Marc Nozell

10. The Violence Against Women Act is reauthorized with explicit trans protections

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President Barack Obama signing the VAWA Reauthorization Act, March 7, 2013. Source: The Obama White House

11. President Obama signs executive orders banning anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination by federal agencies and contractors

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President Barack Obama giving remarks at the signing of Executive Order 13672, which banned anti-LGBTQ discrimination by federal contractors, July 21, 2014. Photo credit: The Obama White House

12. President Obama speaks out against anti-trans persecution in his State of the Union address

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President Barack Obama delivering his 2015 State of the Union address with Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner behind him, January 20, 2015. Source: PolitiFact

13. Federal agencies clarify explicit protections for trans people in schools and health care settings

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The Hubert H. Humphrey building, headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services. Photo credit: General Services Administration

14. NCTE publishes the largest ever survey of trans people

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Source: U.S. Transgender Survey

15. NCTE launches an affiliated political organization, building strength for the coming years

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Source: National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund

Trans Equality Now!

A joint project of the National Center for Transgender…

National Center for Transgender Equality

Written by

We’re the nation’s leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people. Also at https://transequality.org.

Trans Equality Now!

A joint project of the National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund and the National Center for Transgender Equality. Also at ncteactionfund.org and transequality.org.

National Center for Transgender Equality

Written by

We’re the nation’s leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people. Also at https://transequality.org.

Trans Equality Now!

A joint project of the National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund and the National Center for Transgender Equality. Also at ncteactionfund.org and transequality.org.

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