Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway alongside other Wisconsinites at a city celebration for Transgender Day of Visibility. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Wisconsin Democrats and city of Madison leaders recognized transgender visibility day in Wisconsin Monday, introducing legislation that would provide protections for people and raising the transgender pride flag. 

This year’s International Transgender Day of Visibility comes amid a political environment in which trans people have been targeted by new proposed federal and state restrictions. Wisconsin Republican lawmakers spent significant time in March on a slate of bills focused on transgender kids and would have limited their ability to play sports, access gender affirming medical care and change their names and pronouns in school. The bills are among more than 800 anti-trans bills that have been introduced nationwide this year.

Participants in the Madison celebrations said the point of the day was not to focus on the negative and harmful actions being taken, however, but to focus instead on the positive experiences of being transgender. 

Sen. Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove), co-chair of the Transgender Parent and Nonbinary Advocacy Caucus, said during a press conference that the purpose of the day is to “elevate the voices of our trans and non-binary communities, emphasize the joy of living life as your authentic self and to visualize the world in which all our trans and non-binary children, co-workers, neighbors, parents and elected officials throughout Wisconsin and the world are loved, accepted and safe.”

Democrats holding the press conference proposed a handful of bills. One would extend Wisconsin’s nondiscrimination laws to include transgender and nonbinary people by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or gender expression.

Another bill would create an exception to current law for those seeking a name change for gender identity reasons. Under the current state statute people seeking a name change petition must publish notice of their petition in a local newspaper, including in the area where the petition will be heard, once per week for three consecutive weeks before they may petition the court.

A third bill would declare March 31, 2025 as Transgender Day of Visibility in Wisconsin and recognizes the achievements of several transgender people and organizations who have made contributions to Wisconsin.

In addition to the bills, Gov. Tony Evers, who has committed to vetoing any anti-trans legislation that makes it to his desk, signed a proclamation declaring Monday Transgender Day of Visibility.

Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) said the bills are important because lawmakers need to send a positive message to young Wisconsinites who may be paying attention. He said that when he was young he remembers feeling discouraged as a gay teen when the state passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. 

“Thirteen-year-olds across Wisconsin are listening to political actions and messages that are being sent out of the Capitol,” Phelps said, adding that children should know there are elected officials and allies and leaders who are fighting for transgender, non-binary and gender-expansive people of all ages across Wisconsin.

“That’s the message that we want people to take out of the Capitol and into their communities and to see [protections] passed in the state law as well,” Phelps said. 

When asked about plans to discuss the legislation with Republicans and the potential for garnering support across the aisle to pass any of the bills, the lawmakers sounded doubtful. Republicans hold majorities in the Assembly and Senate and support from them would be necessary for any of the Democratic legislation to be taken up.

“I don’t think they will sign on to this legislation. I certainly wish that they would take a look at it and hear our voices here today and see the love and support of so many community members,” Sen. Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove) said. 

Clancy called it a “valid question” that Democrats get every time they hold a press conference. 

“Will Republicans sign on to this? And every time the answer is somewhat the same…,” Clancy said. “Republicans, two weeks ago, sat on the floor of the Assembly just feet from here for hours. They said that trans people should not exist, should not have basic rights. They have had the opportunity to weigh in on this, and I would welcome any of them moving across the aisle, breaking ranks from their, frankly, hateful leadership and joining in on these things.” 

The city of Madison also recognized Transgender Visibility Day by raising the transgender pride flag outside of the city municipal building.

Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway said the city was raising the flag to celebrate trans people, because the city respects individual rights and “rejects hate.” 

“The safety and the livelihoods of trans people are being threatened, and the issue of the fact of trans people is being used to divide our country in a hateful and really disappointing way, but here in Madison, we refuse to go backwards, and we refuse to let hate divide.” 

Asked about communicating the message of acceptance to those who disagree, Rhodes-Conway said that she thinks it’s important people recognize that diversity makes the Madison community stronger and invited people to “learn about the things that maybe make them nervous or scared and to be a part of the incredible diversity.” 

Rhodes-Conway also urged people to educate themselves.

“Folks can educate themselves and each other and a lot of the fear and resistance comes from lack of knowing, and so I just encourage people — there’s a lot of resources,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Please don’t ask the trans people in your lives to educate you. There’s a lot of resources out there and our libraries, our fantastic resources, and people can educate themselves about the history.”

Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, the first out transgender member of the Madison Common Council, said that transgender people are all “part of an unbroken legacy of resilience” and “authenticity.” 

Martinez-Rutherford said that she never expected to feel “so much love and community” when first elected in 2023 and never expected when she first started transitioning in 2007 to be in a position to advocate for people. 

“We raise the transgender flag today for it to be a symbol that Madison is welcoming and that you belong here,” Martinez-Rutherford said. “Let it be a beacon of hope, a reminder that we will not be erased.”

Gov. Tony Evers announced the creation of the Office of Violence Prevention. Later, that day Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said it wouldn't be effective. Evers and Vos pictured at Evers' 2024 State of the State. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order Tuesday to create the Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention in response to the December shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison where a teacher and a student died and six others were injured. 

Evers spoke about troubling  gun death statistics in Wisconsin and across the country. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, the rate of gun deaths has increased 54% from 2014 to 2023 in Wisconsin, compared to a 34% increase nationwide. A recent report by the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE) Educational Fund, a leading gun violence prevention organization, found that guns claimed the lives of 830 Wisconsinites, including 529 firearm suicides and 277 firearm homicides, in 2022.

“Violence is a statewide problem with statewide consequences for people and families across our state,” Evers said at a press conference Tuesday morning, adding that people across Wisconsin deserve a comprehensive response. He said that the Office of Violence Prevention will be one important step in combating the problem. 

Evers is directing $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money for the office, which will be housed in the Department of Administration. Its work will include administering grants to school districts, firearm dealers, law enforcement agencies, nonprofits and government agencies to support violence and gun violence prevention efforts. Those who receive grants could use the money for expenses including supporting law enforcement investigations, using crime gun intelligence tools, implementing suicide prevention education to identify people in crisis, promoting and administering safe storage and gun buyback programs and implementing suicide prevention and firearm safety training in schools. 

Other responsibilities of the office will include helping coordinate state and local agencies to “ensure a whole-of-government approach to prevent violence, including gun violence statewide,” providing technical assistance to local violence prevention and intervention efforts; and developing public education campaigns to promote safer communities and identifying opportunities to improve statewide policies or laws.

While the office will be launched using federal money, Evers is proposing that Wisconsin make the office permanent in the 2025-27 state budget with ongoing state funding, but Republican lawmakers appeared opposed to the effort. 

The proposal is unlikely to get the support of Republican lawmakers, who said the office wouldn’t help the issue.

“It takes a bureaucrat to think that another government agency is actually going to be effective,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Racine) said about the office Tuesday afternoon. “I think what we need to do is to increase funding for our police and public safety services, not create a whole bunch of touchy-feely bureaucrats that are going to go around wasting time, wasting money.”

Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) also appeared skeptical that the office would be effective in helping prevent violence, and pointed to a similar local office in Milwaukee, saying it hasn’t worked. 

“Let me get this straight, Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention was so ineffective at preventing violence that they fired the director and renamed the office,” Wanggaard said in a statement. The office is now called the Office of Community Wellness and Safety, and its director recently resigned. “Now, Governor Evers wants to replicate that failure at the state level?” 

Evers said that he will also propose the “most sweeping, comprehensive package of gun safety reform and violence prevention efforts” that he’s ever introduced while in office in his 2025 budget. He said additional details will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Evers noted that Republican lawmakers have rejected his previous efforts, including a special session call, to implement gun safety reform such as universal background checks and red flag laws.

“In 2025, that just cannot continue to be the case,” Evers said. 

“I have no problem making sure that criminals are not able to access firearms, but I also want to make sure that if people have not committed a crime, they are not artificially held back from legally obtaining a firearm to protect themselves,” Vos said.

Democratic state lawmakers and local officials expressed support for Evers’ proposals. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (R-Racine) said that the office will help move Wisconsin forward when it comes to preventing gun violence. 

“We should be doing everything in our power to keep our communities safe,” Neubauer said. “It’s far past time we take action on common sense policies to build a safer Wisconsin.” 

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said the issue of gun violence is a “public health” problem. She said the city has seen improvement through its violence prevention team, which in the last year helped over 100 people, including some who engaged in violence, some who were victims of violence and others who were affected by violence. She said the team works to address the root causes of violence and the aftermath of violence. 

“We do not have to accept living like this,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Violence is contagious and if you can contain it by supporting the folks who are touched, we have a chance to reduce violence in our communities.” 

Rhodes-Conway said she was grateful that Evers was creating and funding the statewide office to help support Madison’s efforts as well as other communities across the state. 

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said that he was “deeply grateful” to Evers for making violence prevention a statewide priority and is looking forward to working with his administration to help make the county and Wisconsin safe. 

“Gun violence continues to devastate communities across Milwaukee County and beyond,” Crowley said. “However, we have seen encouraging progress, including reduced homicide rates and positive outcomes from targeted violence prevention efforts, such as the Advance Peace program.”