Last weekend, over 36,000 people gathered in downtown Los Angeles to say: We see through the lies—and we won’t be divided. The rally was a powerful stand against authoritarianism, economic exploitation, and manufactured hate targeting trans people, immigrants, people of color and the working class. 

Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shouted: “Trans rights are human rights!” in unison with the crowd.

AOC took the stage with fire in her voice and urgency in her message. 

“We must acknowledge the terrifying moment that we are in right now,” said AOC. “People we love are being targeted and harassed for being trans or queer.” 

Her words cut through the noise of political theater and reminded us that we are witnessing a calculated escalation—an attempt to test just how far hate and fascism can go.

“We have to stand together. We cannot be tempted to turn on our neighbors or be fooled into thinking that we are really that much different from a trans kid who wants to get accepted by their friends,” said AOC. “Hate is a trap that sinks us all.” She called for radical solidarity and rejected the politics of division, saying, “No matter your race, religion, gender identity, or status… if you are willing to fight for someone that you don’t know—you are welcome here.”

Senator Bernie Sanders also reminded us that this movement should be rooted in joy, even in the face of oppression. 

“We’re going to make our revolution with joy,” he declared. “We’re going to sing and dance our way to victory against hatred and divisiveness.” The crowd erupted when he added, “Your presence here today is making Donald Trump and Elon Musk very nervous.”

The rally was filled with chants, signs, laughter, tears and an unmistakable energy: the people are awake, and we are ready to fight back.

We spoke with Representative Pramila Jayapal, a progressive champion who’s led the fight for Medicare for All, labor rights, and immigrant justice—and who also happens to be the proud mother of a trans daughter.

“It’s all about kindness versus cruelty. It’s about making sure every single person has genuine economic and social freedom.” Jayapal spoke about the deep connection between the attacks on trans people and the broader goal of consolidating power. “They want absolute power. They want power to control who we are. They are afraid. My daughter said this to me: ‘Mom, they’re afraid that we are truly free, and they don’t know how to deal with that.’ And I think that’s true. I think they are afraid of our power.”

That fear is precisely why trans people—who make up only one to two percent of the population—have been made into scapegoats. Last year, Republicans spent over $215 million on  advertisements targeting the trans community. When I asked Jayapal what that level of investment reveals, she didn’t hold back.

“Trans kids didn’t hike your rent. Billionaires and private equity did. Trans kids didn’t take away your healthcare. Private, for-profit insurance companies and billionaires did. Trans kids didn’t raise the price of your groceries. Billionaires did that.”

She paused, then added with emotion, “It absolutely breaks my heart to see what I consider the most cruel bullying on a tiny portion of kids who are just trying to live their lives. Right now, the bullying is coming from the highest offices in the land. But I truly believe it shows how small they are—and how powerful we are.”

When I asked what gives her hope, especially as we face hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills and executive orders across the country, she didn’t hesitate. 

“It’s the resilience of the community. It’s the love,” she said, her voice breaking as she spoke. “It’s the love of people across this country who are saying we are not forsaking our trans community. This is not just about trans people. This is about the right of every one of us to have the freedoms we deserve.” She spoke of the tens of thousands that have attended these rallies across the nation. 

“They are all ascribing to the same set of values, which is dignity and respect for everyone. That gives me hope every day,” she said. “And you too, Rose. You give me hope.”

This movement is about more than resisting fascism—it’s about confronting the systems that uphold it: corporate greed, white supremacy, and unchecked power. The fight for trans liberation is inseparable from the fight against oligarchy. Every attack on queer and trans people is a distraction—a cruel political strategy meant to divide us while the rich get richer and democracy erodes. But they underestimated us. They underestimated our joy, our power, our solidarity. The message in LA was clear: we are not going anywhere. We are not just resisting—we are imagining and building a better future together. And we are just getting started.

When a city passes the motion to make their city an LGBTQ sanctuary city, it means that city or state resources cannot be used to prosecute or punish LGBTQ people for seeking gender-affirming care, resources or government assistance. 

As many of us know, there are three major levels of government: local, state and federal. 

City motions set a precedent for the state, adding local representation on a small scale that hypothetically catches on and makes its way up the ladder to the state, then federal level. 

Though the Trump administration holds a lot of power on a federal level, states, cities and municipalities hold power on a level that is easier for local communities to change and control. If cities across the state begin passing motions to become LGBTQ sanctuary cities, the state then has to consider passing the motion to become a sanctuary state. If the majority of states consider themselves sanctuary states, it pushes the change on a national, or federal, level. 

At first glance, it seems like the move for a city to consider itself an LGBTQ sanctuary city is not a big deal because there is no financial flow in the motion and there are no special funds to be allocated. The only visible change is the new title the city gets to claim. However, passing motions in favor of LGBTQ rights, is crucial toward the longer and harder journey to attain rights on a national level. It is a far more nuanced issue than what it seems. 

If that same logic were to hold up when it comes to statewide decisions, then it could become easy to dismantle progress made on any level. 

The Advocate published an article in November when the City of Los Angeles unanimously passed the ordinance to become an LGBTQ sanctuary city. Passing the ordinance means that the city is now responsible for “shielding queer youth who travel to the city to receive gender-affirming care from prosecution, as well as preventing city resources from being used in immigration enforcement or assisting federal immigration officials.”

During the November 2024 election, Proposition 3 made it on the ballot and Californians had the choice of voting in favor or against the proposition that would only change the outdated language of the California state constitution, that until recently did not recognize same-sex or interracial marriages. To some, the change seemed meaningless, but on a statewide level, passing this proposition meant cementing the progress made on the protection of same-sex and interracial marriages. Though the proposition had no money flow in the matter, this important move signaled the support of the state in favor of LGBTQ rights on a state level. 

While California is already a sanctuary state, it is also crucial to recognize protections and rights in individual cities. During these unprecedented and uncertain times in LGBTQ history, it is more crucial than ever to push for these changes. 

When one city makes the move to become a sanctuary city, others follow and LGBTQ representation becomes more visible on a government level. 

In November, shortly after Trump was elected as the 47th president of the United States, Los Angeles declared itself an LGBTQ sanctuary city. 

Now, Long Beach has followed suit and has unanimously approved a resolution to make the city a transgender sanctuary city and officially recognize March 31 as Trans Day of Visibility. 

There are a growing number of LGBTQ sanctuary cities across the nation. In California, the list of cities includes San Francisco, Sacramento, West Hollywood, Los Angeles and most recently, Long Beach. 

Other cities, including Boston, Massachusetts; Olympia, Washington; Cambridge, Massachusetts and others across the nation have also recently declared their status in support of LGBTQ people.

This is not just a win – it is a small, but monumental stride toward progress, representation and protection. We need more cities to push motions to become sanctuaries for queer and transgender people as the current administration continues to use queer and trans people as political pawns in the chess game rigged for the alt-right.