{"id":227561,"date":"2026-06-25T05:28:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T05:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/227561\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T05:28:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T05:28:42","slug":"pennsylvania-lgbtq-groups-amplify-trans-voices-for-pride-month-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/227561\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ groups amplify trans voices for Pride Month | Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Violence against transgender and nonbinary people has surged in Pennsylvania and across the country, including most recently<\/a> at a Pride event in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

National data show LGBTQ+ people are five times more likely<\/a> than heterosexual people to experience violent crime.<\/p>\n

J. Gia Loving, co-executive director of the Genders and Sexuality Alliance Network<\/a>, said the organization is focused on empowering youth voices and helping students build safer school environments. Loving pointed out young people are already finding ways to protect themselves and each other, and the network\u2019s goal is to support them as they grow up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe teach young trans and queer people that one of the first and foremost things that you can do is to respect what you know about your body, and your community, and what you need, and just to take action on keeping yourself safe,\u201d Loving explained. \u201cIf that means going with your friends to the restroom that they feel comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the ACLU, more than 500 bills<\/a> targeting queer people have been introduced nationwide, including 10 in Pennsylvania. Loving added the network partners with schools and organizations in 24 states, including Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Community organizations are also working to address safety and long-term stability.<\/p>\n

Janetta Johnson, CEO of the Miss Major and Alexander L. Lee Transgender Gender-Variant and Intersex Justice Project’s Black Trans Cultural Center<\/a> in San Francisco, said the center’s work is shaped by lived experience and focuses on creating economic opportunity and support for Black transgender people, especially those affected by incarceration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe provide leadership development, trainings and workshops and different opportunities and access for one coming out, where they have an opportunity to work within the organization or get a scholarship,\u201d Johnson outlined.<\/p>\n

Johnson noted amid rising tensions and violence involving police, the organization serves as a safe space where people can share their experiences, adding many on staff identify as abolitionists, and the group generally works to resolve situations without involving police.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur community members have been through a lot of stuff,\u201d Johnson acknowledged. \u201cIt is not always safe for them to talk to the police about what happened to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson underscored many Black queer people have survived homelessness, violence, incarceration, poverty, discrimination or barriers to healthcare. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Johnson explained, the challenges became even more severe.<\/p>\n

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