LGBTQ Leaders Slam FBI ‘Terror Label’ Proposal

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics News

LGBTQ Leaders Condemn FBI Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (September 25, 2025) — LGBTQ leaders are pushing back hard against reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is weighing a controversial proposal to classify “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism” as a form of domestic terrorism. The recommendation reportedly originated from the conservative Heritage Foundation, with the Justice Department also considering restricting gun rights for transgender Americans on mental health grounds.

“This is dangerous political theater that paints innocent Americans as threats,” warned Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, noting that transgender people already face violence at four times the rate of the general public.

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“Community Under Siege”

Kelly Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the move a deliberate attempt to polarize voters. She pointed to real-life examples: harassment of transgender students in Utah, slurs in California, bullets left outside a Missouri LGBT center, and death threats against a trans elected official in Ohio.

“These are our neighbors — people who work in coffee shops, volunteer at schools, and sit in church pews,” Robinson said. “They are being cast as criminals when in reality, they are victims.”

The Trump Factor and Media Amplification

Advocates accused the Trump campaign and MAGA allies of fueling fear to distract from political failures. The debate intensified after an August school shooting in Minneapolis carried out by a transgender woman — a rare event seized on by conservatives such as Donald Trump Jr. and Charlie Kirk, who claimed transgender identity should disqualify people from gun ownership.

Kirk himself was fatally shot this month during a heated debate over transgender gun rights, further fueling the controversy. Critics say the tragic irony of his death highlights how violence is weaponized for political narratives.

Statistics Tell a Different Story

Despite conservative claims, data paints a starkly different picture:

96% of mass attackers between 2016–2020 were cisgender men, with only 2% identified as transgender (Secret Service).
1.6% of Americans identify as transgender or nonbinary (Pew Research Center).
Transgender people are 4x more likely to be victims of violent crime compared to cisgender people (Williams Institute, UCLA).

“Transgender children do not threaten anyone’s safety,” said Beth Littrell of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “The real danger is a government failing to protect its most vulnerable citizens.”

Historical Pattern of Targeting Minorities

Daniel Rivers, Ohio State University professor, noted that today’s rhetoric echoes a long history of oppression:

1848 Columbus anti-cross-dressing laws used to jail gender-nonconforming people.
The Lavender Scare of the 1940s–60s saw thousands of LGBTQ federal workers purged.
Under Nazi Germany, both gay and trans people were rounded up and imprisoned under the pink triangle.

“All forms of gun violence are tragic, but history shows the overwhelming majority of shooters are cisgender men,” Rivers emphasized.

Legal and Community Response

Organizations including Equality Federation and the Transgender Law Center vowed legal action if the FBI moves forward. They also stressed the need for grassroots safety planning, local organizing, and solidarity.

“This is political violence,” said Fran Hutchins, Equality Federation’s executive director. “We will not be erased.”

Shelby Chestnut of the Transgender Law Center added: “Trump’s America has taught us how to prepare for threats. We’re ready to defend our communities and our rights.”

Footnotes

GLAAD – LGBTQ advocacy statements on transgender violence and policy.
Pew Research Center (2023) – U.S. transgender and nonbinary identification statistics.
U.S. Secret Service Report (2023) – Mass attack demographics, 2016–2020.
Williams Institute, UCLA – Transgender violent crime victimization study.
Ohio State University (Prof. Daniel Rivers) – Historical analysis of anti-trans laws and discrimination.

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