By Matthew LeDoux
Just last year, in 2025, 49 out of 50 U.S. states passed or attempted to pass bills that actively restricted or removed transgender people’s rights. Across the country, 1,022 such bills were introduced, and only 405 have been defeated.
This number, of course, includes our own Oregon, with 14 bills introduced in our state Legislature. Thankfully, none passed. But why were these bills created in the first place?
It’s hate. More specifically, an increase in hate, driven by a nationwide smear campaign intent on convincing the American public that transgender people are dangerous and evil. Anti-trans groups foster fear in the American public through strategically designed campaigning, political rhetoric and public messaging rooted in lies, shaping what people perceive as normal and acceptable. Their campaigns posit only one solution for dealing with trans people in society — to remove them from it entirely.
If you don’t believe me, I urge you to consider this: Within the first week of Trump taking office for his second term, the White House removed more than 350 resources for transgender individuals from federal websites.
I ask you to consider that members of Congress and right-wing media outlets routinely spout hate, labeling gender inclusivity as “gender ideology” and repeatedly equating transgender people with groomers and pedophiles. Marjorie Taylor Greene was quoted at Turning Point USA calling trans women “men, who are really a bunch of perverts, in your locker room and your bathroom, because listen, they want to have sex with you — that’s why they’re in there.”
Consider as well that politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis actively campaign against the education of students on gender and sexuality, calling sex-ed “woke indoctrination.”
Consider the SAVE America Act, a bill designed to make it nearly impossible for transgender people to register to vote. And consider that in Kansas, recent legislation has made it illegal for transgender people to drive to work or participate in daily life unless their identification matches the gender they were assigned at birth.
Most importantly, consider that it’s working.
A recurring Pew Research Center poll in 2025 found that, compared with results from 2022, Americans have become more supportive of restrictions on transgender rights. This shift appeared across the political spectrum, among Democrats and Republicans alike. When asked if trans people should have protection against discrimination in public and in their workplaces, support dropped 8 points. Across all the questions asked, both Democratic and Republican support for transgender people dropped by over 5 points each.
This shift isn’t just visible in poll results; it has spilled over into real-world violence. Data gathered by the FBI shows that incidents of reported anti-trans hate crimes have increased from an average of fewer than 10 incidents per month in 2015 to as many as 63 offenses per month in 2025. That is a 700 percent increase in a decade. Realize that these numbers represent far more than mere values on a federal report; they represent people in communities like ours being threatened, assaulted and killed.
Eugene is not exempt from this. We live in a state that introduced 14 anti‑trans bills in a single year, and our own communities are not immune to the fear and misinformation that fuel them.
It is all too easy to ignore what is not in your own backyard, but trans hate is already here. Like a weed, its roots run deep through the highest levels of government, and its vines spread through media representation. Eventually, it takes hold in the minds of the American people, infecting our sensibilities with promises of safety from a nonexistent danger.
I have seen how our community has rallied to support neighbors who are endangered by ICE in our streets. That same dedication to protecting our community is needed now more than ever.
Now is the most critical time to stand against attacks on transgender people and their rights. Now is the time to resist rhetoric that seeks to divide and conquer, and instead unite to support all who are oppressed by the ever-present, corrupted roots in our system — whether that means challenging hateful comments when we hear them, supporting our local LGBTQ+ organizations, or voting against candidates who build their platforms around making us fear. Together, we can stand firm against the political forces that profit from dividing us.
Matthew LeDoux is a Eugene pre-med student and activist who advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and equitable public policy. Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31.