Madison Queer Liberation March

media release: On Saturday, June 28 at 10am, Wisconsinites will gather in James Madison Park and march to the Capitol to demand Queer Liberation for All! Those who can’t march can meet us in the Capitol at 11:45am using accessible entrances.

As the global far right ramps up its attacks on queer and trans people, and the liberal institutions that purport to protect us are throwing up their hands, it’s clear that we need a unified, fighting working-class movement for queer liberation.

This June, we reject rainbow capitalism. We fight for queer liberation, bodily autonomy, and economic justice. On June 28th, the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising — a revolt against police brutality targeting queer and trans people — we will gather to prove that we are stronger together – that together, we can – and will – oppose the forces of homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and capitalism that keep us down.

Here in Wisconsin, at least 4% of people are LGBTQ+, and we deserve to be protected by our government, not live in fear of it. This year, the Wisconsin Legislature has proposed several bills that target the queer community, with an extreme emphasis on trans people. Assembly Bills 100 and 102 will ban trans students – primarily trans femmes – from participating in sports teams that align with their gender identity at both grade school and college levels. AB 103 makes it infinitely more difficult for a trans student to change their name and pronouns at school without administrative and parental approval, and also prevents staff from respecting their students’ desired pronouns. Each of these bills has been approved by the Assembly and is waiting for a Senate vote. If passed, over 12,000 trans people under the age of 24 will see their lives exponentially worsened, restricted from participating safely in academics and athletics, and unable to publicly identify as themselves.

Our access to healthcare is also under attack. Those assigned female at birth, and of a sexual minority, are at a higher risk of unintended pregnancy and need for abortion, in part because sexual education doesn’t address the needs of LGBTQ+ people. Trans people, especially trans youth, struggle to access HRT and life-saving medical care, and Republicans are using Assembly Bill 104 to restrict trans youth from receiving puberty blockers and from being referred to other doctors for the care they need.

Beyond the current legislation, queer people face systemic oppression every day – our housing and security is under threat. The queer community experiences higher rates of poverty, homelessness, and police brutality than cishet people. Young queer people are twice as likely to experience homelessness as non-LGBTQ+ people. Same-sex couples are less likely to own a home, and more likely to get harassed by housing providers. Discrimination doesn’t go away when we shut our doors, it follows us inside.

Just like the attacks on trans and queer people, the ruling class is using attacks on immigrants to divide and discipline the working class. ICE has been terrorizing immigrant communities throughout the country, and the Trump Administration has cracked down brutally on communities that have protested in solidarity with their neighbors, from LA to Chicago and beyond. We stand in solidarity with all immigrants to the United States, including the 1 million LGBTQ+ immigrants in the United States who make up 10% of the queer adult population. Queer detainees are denied medical care; trans people are put in segregated facilities that do not match their identities and face an increased risk of sexual assault. If deported, they might risk further imprisonment, torture, or death.

All of these experiences are connected. They exist, by design, under capitalism, which will always put profit over the needs of the many. The more we struggle with housing, with healthcare, with education, the more they think they can divide the working class, by trapping us in our individual struggles. But we are not divided – we are a community. We see through them. We see through capitalism. As workers, as queer and trans people, and as allies, we stand together to fight for queer liberation and bodily freedom, and an end to the capitalist system that oppresses, exploits, and divides us.

On June 28th, we march to oppose the threats to LGBTQ+ life, liberty, and happiness. We march to oppose any bill that stops trans people from living openly and honestly as themselves, any bill that puts our housing and health at risk. We believe that education, housing, and healthcare for all are basic needs – basic rights! – and they cannot be discarded by Wisconsin legislators. And we stand in solidarity with queer people facing oppression across the globe – especially our Palestinian siblings – and reject the “pinkwashing” that attempts to use accusations of homophobia to justify their genocide.

With all this in mind, we are demanding the following from Madison Common Council, state legislators, and Governor Tony Evers:

• No Pride in Genocide!

• Deliver aid to Gaza!
• Dispose of the 2017 Anti-BDS Law
• Divest from Israel! Arms embargo now!

• Education For All!

• Respond to student needs for free school meals
• Require sex education to be LGBTQ-inclusive
• Reject AB 100, 102, and 103 and allow trans youth to receive an equal education and participate in sports

• Healthcare for All!

• Prevent the passage of AB 104 and all bills that threaten access to gender-affirming care
• Preserve Medicaid access & fight for Medicare for All
• Protect abortion rights

• Housing for All!

• Stop raising the rent! Universal rent control!
• Side with tenants, not landlords - right to organize, right to counsel, right to stay in place
• Support Universal Public Housing

• Stand with Immigrants!

• Ratify Madison, WI as a sanctuary city
• Refuse to collaborate with ICE
• Reject Trump’s travel ban

Want to get involved in preparations for the march? Join us at the Queer Liberation March Art Build, Saturday June 21st, from 1-3:30pm.