CHICAGO (WLS) — Before her election as commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Precious Brady Davis was actively involved in advocating for transgender rights and striving to live authentically.
“The core of who I am today is the same as when I was 5 years old, bravely telling my grandmother that I was a little girl, despite her negative reaction,” she shared.
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In response to President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing a two-gender rule, Precious Brady Davis, along with fellow transgender individuals, transgender rights activists, and the ACLU of Illinois, are preparing for a renewed battle in defense of transgender rights.
Davis’ advocacy brought her to the White House multiple times; most recently in the summer of 2024 for a celebration of LGBTQ+ pride.
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She said she’s worried that the White House is now closing its doors to the LGBTQ+ community after Trump declared in his inauguration speech that he would create an official policy of the United States government that “there are only two genders, male and female.”
The order reverses efforts by the Biden administration to broaden gender identity designations, including on passports.
Ed Yohkna of the ACLU of Illinois said there are federal protections in place for the LGBTQ+ community, with the Supreme Court prohibiting employment discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
“Many of our neighbors and relatives and friends are trans or nonbinary. It’s almost inexplicable that this idea of picking on those people is something that an incoming president would want to do,” he said.
In the meantime, Davis worries about how Trump’s order will affect younger people.
“I think of trans youth,” she said. “There are already high rates of suicide, high rates of violence.”
A spokesperson for President Trump said the changes were all aimed at promoting the privacy and safety of women, who the spokesperson said had suffered under attempts to cater to transgender workers and students.
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