Transgender Awareness Week
A study was conducted by the Williams Institute in June 2016 and concluded that 0.6% of the U.S. population (1.4 million) identify themselves as transgender. Trans people face many issues within their community that causes them to feel like they are in danger and are unsafe. A survey found that 50% of trans people claim to have been raped or assaulted by a romantic partner. Trans people have been murdered simply for being trans, in addition to their loved ones and/or friends because of being involved with them. Some trans women were arrested for fighting back against their attacker. Trans women and supporters formerly united with one another and took stands against discrimination towards trans people by holding riots. Transgender Awareness Week established in response to these killings and imprisonments in order to highlight the challenges faced by trans people.
Factions in the Democratic Party (United States)
Both Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama heavily targeted LGBT voters. Exit polling going back to 1990 to the present show that LGBT voters overwhelming prefer the Democratic Party over the Republican Party. On average, about 72.5% of LGBT voters voted Democratic in exit polling for the presidential elections dating from 1992 to the present. On average, about 74.42% of LGBT voters voted Democratic in exit polling for House of Representatives elections dating from 1990 to the present. In the 2012 election exit polls, Obama won 76% of LGBT voters. In the 2016 election polls, Hillary Clinton won 78% of LGBT voters.At the 2000 Democratic National Convention, Jane Fee of Minnesota was the first transgender delegate to a Democratic National Convention. The 2008 national Democratic Party platform for the first time included "gender identity" in the party platform, the first explicit inclusion of transgender people in the national Democratic Party platform. In 2009, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) added gender identity to the DNC's non-discrimination policy and DNC Chair Tim Kaine appointed Barbra Casbar Siperstein the first openly transgender member of the DNC. In 2010, President Obama became the first president to appoint an openly transgender person to political positions in the United States federal government. In 2012, Trans United for Obama, the first partisan transgender issues group was formed to reelect President Barack Obama. During the 2015 State of the Union Address, President Obama became the first U.S. president ever to use the term "transgender". At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender person to address a Democratic National Convention. A 2015 United States Transgender Survey found 50% of transgender Americans identified as Democrats, 48% as independents, including 4% socialist or democratic socialist, 2% Republicans and Green Party and 1% Libertarian and anarchist. Of the sample that is independent, 79% reported that they were Democrats or lean towards the Democratic Party, 4% were Republicans or lean towards the Republican Party and 17% were independents who do not lean Democratic or Republican parties. When asked about their political views, 55% described themselves as very liberal, 27% liberal, 15% moderate, 2% conservative and 1% very conservative.