Providence Mayor Brett Smiley vows to protect the rights of transgender residents
“We will protect your rights, ensuring you can access the support and resources that enable you to prosper," said the Mayor. "[W]e’re committed to fostering an environment where fear does not exist.”
“I know that many of us are feeling apprehensive as we face uncertain times with the incoming presidential administration,” said Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, speaking at the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance1 at the Southside Cultural Center of Rhode Island. “As Mayor, I want to assure all who are here with us that Providence will always be a safe and welcoming home for you.
“We will protect your rights, ensuring you can access the support and resources that enable you to prosper. Our capital city proudly stands as an ally, and we’re committed to fostering an environment where fear does not exist.”
The Transgender Day of Remembrance, sponsored by Project Weber Renew, brings the community together to remember the beautiful trans lives lost while celebrating their strength and the ways they continue to inspire us. [I was late to the event and missed the Mayor’s words, but his office shared his notes with me afterward, with the caveat that they were not read verbatim and that the Mayor may have ad-libbed at times. Due to my lateness, I was unable to record the event as I have in the past.]
This is the second time the Mayor has spoken publicly about the need for Providence to protect its residents against the potential depredations of a second Trump Presidency. On November 6th, the Mayor held a press conference where he addressed President-elect Trump’s possible attacks on our immigrant community, saying, “I have a message for all of our neighbors. You are welcome, valued, and safe. We will use our laws, ordinances, City policies, and every tool at our disposal to protect what makes this place so special and the sanctuary it is for so many.”
The Mayor added, “The Providence Police are not, should not be, and will not be immigration officers. We know that we have undocumented immigrants in Providence. Regardless of their documentation status, we are proud of our immigrant community, and our policy will remain the same, which we think is thoughtful and compassionate. If you are going about your business, you have no concern that Providence Police or law enforcement, empowered by me at least, will be asking for paperwork or checking immigration status.”
As reporter Erin Reed noted, “In the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president, transgender people are left wondering what lies ahead. For this vulnerable community, a Trump administration signals potential disaster: the candidate just won his election after $215 million in anti-trans ads targeting this small minority—a staggering amount that eclipsed spending on other issue-based ads. Now, transgender individuals are searching for ways to protect themselves under a federal government that may view them as top “enemies from within,” a term Trump has used to describe those on the left.”
In another piece, Reed has looked to California, where Governor Gavin Newsom has called a “special session of the state legislature to protect these rights and defend against an emboldened, incoming Trump administration. Newsom’s directive is clear: safeguard reproductive healthcare, support immigrants, and shield LGBTQ+ people from what is viewed as existential threats to civil rights and democratic norms.”
Though anti-trans candidates faired poorly in Rhode Island in the recent elections, there were some notable wins, and the movement will, of course, feel emboldened under a Trump Presidency and the possible elevation of Matt Gaetz to the position of United States Attorney General. According to the Arizona Mirror:
“In Congress, Gaetz has opposed federal LGBTQ+ protections such as the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in various areas of public life, and the Respect for Marriage Act, a law signed by President Joe Biden to protect LGBTQ+ marriage. Last year, he backed legislation to prevent school athletic programs from allowing trans girls to compete in girls’ sports.
“During Trump’s first term, Gaetz celebrated the former president’s ban on transgender people serving in the military — and during Trump’s 2024 campaign, Gaetz leaned into rhetoric portraying trans people, particularly nonbinary or gender nonconforming people, as antithetical to America’s identity.
“At the Republican National Convention, where multiple speakers verbally attacked transgender people, Gaetz reflected on Trump’s first term as a time when “we were richer, inflation was low, and there were two genders.” After Trump made baseless claims on the campaign trail that U.S. schools are clandestinely performing gender-affirming surgeries on children, Gaetz appeared to support those unfounded claims, saying that parents in places like California and Washington state are ‘at risk of losing parental rights.’”
Attorney General Peter Neronha has so far failed to respond to my request for his thoughts on protecting the rights of transgender, non-binary, and transitioning Rhode Islanders.
