“Donald Trump and Elon Musk will tell you that I don’t exist, but I do. I exist,” transgender activist Stella Keating said at the podium at the Washington D.C. “Hands Off” protest, delivering a powerful message demanding freedom and equality.
The “Hands Off” protests were a public display of resistance against U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to restore democracy.
From federal buildings to city halls, over 1,400 demonstrations took place all across the U.S. on April 5, 2025, as many different national and local organizations and communities came together to fight for their rights.
Advocating for Medicaid Coverage for Gender-Affirming Care
Many protesters rallied against Trump, who signed a new federal letter aiding states in eliminating Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for minors.
These federal rules make it more difficult for transgender youth to access treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and medical surgeries.
Indivisible, a grassroots movement committed to rebuilding democracy, was one of the organizations that led the charge on April 5.
In their document outlining the “Hands Off” campaign, Indivisible demands “an end to slashing federal funds for Medicaid” and “an end to the attacks on immigrants, trans people, and other communities.”
Even beyond gender-affirming care, both Trump and Musk have a deep history regarding making anti-transgender remarks and actions.
On Feb. 5, Trump signed an executive order to ban transgender women from competing in women’s or girls’ sporting events.
“The probability of a trans person being violent appears to be vastly higher than non-trans. Hormone injections cause extreme emotional volatility. That is simply a fact,” Musk said in an X post on March 20.
This is one of many instances where Musk has used harmful language and made baseless comments that target the trans community.
Transphobic comments like these have inspired many advocates to take a stand. Instead of staying silent, many people have chosen to use their voices and amplify the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Many held up signs and chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho Donald Trump has got to go,” and the rallying cry heard across the world at global rallies.
In support of Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care, the Colorado General Assembly passed two bills aimed at strengthening the protection of the rights of trans people in the state.
House Bill 25-1309 would make it illegal for health insurers to deny or limit care deemed medically necessary by a doctor, including hormone therapy and medical procedures that could aid someone’s transition.
The second bill, House Bill 25-1312, seeks to add protections for transgender people in schools and courts. This bill would require courts to consider coercive control actions such as misgendering and deadnaming — using a transgender person’s previous name before transitioning in order to reject their identity — in child custody decisions.
The fight to feel accepted within all spaces, including schools, health, courts, and law, is still an ongoing one, especially with all the laws enacted by the Trump administration.
While there is still more to be done to ensure equity and justice, the “Hands Off” protest was a bold act of resistance, and it has sparked a glimmer of hope as we anticipate what’s to come.