NCDP Trans Caucus Stance Regarding the “Promise To America” Pledge
We unequivocally condemn the “Promise to America” pledge and the Democratic elected officials and candidates who chose to sign it. This platform abandons trans people and immigrants in pursuit of political convenience. That is not Democratic leadership. It is a betrayal of our values.
Trans people and immigrants are not problems to be managed, and our humanity must never be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. We are your neighbors, your coworkers, your families, your constituents, and your fellow Democrats. Our rights, our safety, and our dignity are not negotiable.
The pledge’s embrace of rhetoric like “secure borders,” “national pride,” “orderly immigration,” and “mainstream, not extreme” does not make it moderate. It repackages fear and exclusion in more palatable language while giving cover to the same forces attacking trans people, criminalizing immigrants, and eroding civil rights across the country.
The Democratic Party cannot claim to be the party of equality while embracing language that leaves our communities behind. There is no path to justice that asks marginalized people to accept fewer rights so others can feel more comfortable. There is no unity built on sacrificing the most vulnerable.
We call on every Democrat to reject this platform and stand without apology for trans people, immigrants, and every community under attack. Our party should never chase electoral advantage by borrowing the language of exclusion. It should lead with courage, defend the vulnerable, and fight for a future where every person can live openly, safely, and with equal dignity under the law.
Promise To America Pledge
Yahoo News 13 Moderate Democrats Reject Socialism
Katherine Harris
Chair
NCDP Transgender Caucus
Having stated the above, which has been endorsed by the Presidents of the NCDP Arab Caucus and Progressive Caucus, I would ask that Candidate Jamie Ager produce a statement that is more clearly defined in reference to his comment made to the Citizen Times on July 1st regarding “defending our LGBTQ and immigrant neighbors” *, particularly in light of the increased ICE violence committed against this minority segment of our population, and the devastating attacks on the transgender community from both the Federal and State government. I will also posit that to describe transgender females as “men” when commenting on transgender females in sports is offensive. Transgender female athletes are women. Period. Prior to the current Administration’s attack on people who make up approximately 1% of the total U.S. population, there were mechanisms in place to help ensure that all women had an equal and fair opportunity to participate in school and professional sports. The NC High School Athletic Association and the NCAA, prior to ratification of H574, now Session Law 2023-109, entitled “An Act to Protect Opportunities for Women and Girls in Athletics”, had policies in place that allowed transgender athletes to play on teams aligning with their gender identity. The International Olympics Committee and other associations also had transgender supportive rules. I’m happy to share these now obsolete documents upon request.
I’m sure that Democratic voters across WNC look forward to his victory in November, all of us. This includes the approximately 35,000 LGBTQ people residing in WNC and 420,000 statewide, or about 4% ** of North Carolinians. A small number, but we are not insignificant and expect to be equally represented. Our Hispanic and Latino population, all of the approximately 50,000 ***, who call WNC home, should know how they will be protected from violent and often unjust roundups committed by ICE.
Finally, on the topic of the Democratic Party’s focus on so-called “identity politics” ****. When one’s own rights and very existence is not being threatened by Federal and State attacks and legislation, and does not identify with that segment of our population that is targeted, I suggest stepping back and consider why we must be so outspoken. We may not be “everyday people” as he stated, but like “everyday people” we concern ourselves with healthcare, the economy, housing, jobs, fair wages, the war, and the myriad other issues that affect “everyday people”. We exist, we count, and we will not be legislated out of existence.
Katherine Harris
Chair
NCDP Transgender Caucus
*Citizen Times
**EqualityNC
***Asheville WATCHDOG
****The Assembly