Is the U.S. Safe for Transgender People Right Now? What You Need to Know
Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter
The U.S. has become increasingly dangerous for the transgender community over the last year. But since the murder of Charlie Kirk, it feels like things have gone from a simmer to a boil. I’ve had trans friends who have inquired about staying at my mom’s house in Canada. And I’ve heard from others about their plans to “get out, now.”
To help make sense of what’s happening, here are some key takeaways from the past few weeks that are causing increasing concern for trans Americans right now:
Multiple national security officials told journalist Ken Klippenstein that the Trump administration is discussing ways to target trans people as violent extremists.
“They are cynically targeting trans people because [Charlie Kirk] shooter’s lover was trans,” one senior intelligence official told Klippenstein. “The administration has convinced itself that the Charlie Kirk murder exposes some dark conspiracy.”
In further reporting, Klippenstein discussed an intelligence brief from Customs and Border Protection recently leaked to him that warns of “Zizians,” a “Radical Leftist Trans Militant Cult.”
Donald Trump Jr. polled users on X over whether “antifa” or “trantifa” are the “greatest domestic terror threat facing America,” to which over 80% of the more than 125,000 respondents answered “they’re the same thing.” This came just five days before the president signed an executive order declaring antifa to be a “domestic terrorist organization.”
The Oversight Project, cosigned by former owners and Project 2025 authors The Heritage Foundation, called on the FBI to create a new designation for “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism,” or TIVE, for short.
On Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Vice President JD Vance was asked whether he considers the “militant transgender movement” a “domestic terrorist threat.” He responded:
“If you are encouraging people to commit acts of violence against the United States government or against your fellow Americans, absolutely. You’re involved in a terrorist movement.”
Trump administration counterterrorism czar Sebastian Gorka made multiple posts last Friday focused on violence by trans people.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a trans bathroom ban for state-owned buildings and public schools into law, with fines of up to $125,000.
Two Republican lawmakers called for trans people to be institutionalized.
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to let it enforce a trans-exclusionary policy that requires passports to have gender markers that match the sex listed on individuals’ birth certificates.
After writing this, I re-read everything and replaced every instance of the word “trans” with the word “gay.” It made me better understand the fear trans people in the U.S. must be feeling. It made it hit home that these aren’t just abstract headlines—they’re tangible and they could have life-changing impacts on millions of Americans. I write this feeling somewhat hopeless today. What can be done to push back against this unwarranted vilification of a marginalized group that deserves equal treatment?
Thank you to everyone who came out to leave a message of hope for our campaign. It was incredibly powerful. Stay tuned to hear the messages.
Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕 As debates over queer rights intensify across the country, what does it mean to be an LGBTQ educator—or an ally—as kids are now back in school? We spoke with six teachers about what it’s like to show up for their students.
🆕 There’s a growing trend of conservative Christian women who come out later in life. What are the factors keeping Christian women in the closet? We hear from the women who made a central pivot and shifted their worlds later in life.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief — spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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If this was happening in Germany I'd seriously consider leaving. It sounds like a point has been reached where it can go downhill pretty fast.
This is a level of vilification that has totally left any realm of logical reasoning - even if you give people the benefit of the doubt and acknowledge it's a hard to understand topic. It's a level of dehumanisation that can only be preparation for more atrocities.
And it's state sanctioned, not just some media hype. In a country that has lost checks and balances.
In Germany, most victims realised when it was already too late. (Or just had no chance of leaving)
"El Dorado" on Netflix paints a picture on how it was for gay people. I watched it a year ago and already found striking similarities.
Partner and I both transgender, got our passports sorted immediately after the elect, sold everything we could and left the US in March. We had no idea it would go this way so fast, but with consequences being near non existent we knew it would get here at some point. Don't know if we'll ever be able to return, but I'm terrified for all those without the means to leave.