After the 2024 presidential election, a person shoved him on the street and began yelling anti-trans slurs. “I’m laying in the street bleeding. Not one person stopped to help me or see if I was okay. And I got up, and I’m bleeding. My hands are bleeding, my knees are bleeding, my face is bleeding.” It was then that he decided he had to leave the country.
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Hefty is part of the record number of LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. fleeing the president’s anti-transgender policies by seeking asylum in other countries, according to a report released last Saturday by the LGBTQ+ asylum relocation assistance group Rainbow Railroad.
Simultaneously, fewer LGBTQ+ refugees from other anti-LGBTQ+ countries are seeking asylum in the U.S., a result of the president’s anti-immigration policies, according to the group’s report, Understanding the State of Global LGBTQI+ Persecution, which was released on World Refugee Day.
Last year, Rainbow Railroad received 20,215 direct requests for relocation assistance from queer and trans people, a 51% increase over 2024 and the highest number of requests the group has received since its founding in 2006.
Approximately 31% of last year’s requests came from people living in the U.S. The previous year, that percentage was about 13%. While past requests to leave the U.S. had in the past predominantly come from queer immigrants who had been resettled in the states, about 88% of the requests in 2025 came from American citizens who said they were fleeing the current administration’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
Idk man I’m down voting this because it portrays all of USA as the same. My city this shit does not happen.
the place i live, seattle, is widely known as a trans mecca. a haven for people like us
and yet… a trans woman, juniper blessing, was found stabbed over 40 times in a violent hate crime a month and a half ago
IT CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE
as long as there are bigots, it can happen anywhere
I read about that shit, so many people on facebook were insisting that Juniper’s death was her fault, and they didn’t use the term “her”
I gotta stop using Facebook, need to find a new news source
The best time to quit using Facebook was 20 years ago. The second best time, is today.
Senseless violence can happen anywhere. Leaving the victim bleeding on the street without checking on them, that’s a different story.
like as far as places in america go
it doesn’t get any more trans-friendly than seattle
I live near one of the most liberal cities in the US and this happens. I don’t believe you, sorry.
People shove trans people into the streets and no one stops to help them where they lay bleeding? Yeah no, if that happens in your city their politics aren’t liberal, they’re sociopathic. I’m glad to not live wherever you live.
the place i live, seattle, is widely known as a trans mecca. a haven for people like us
and yet… a trans woman, juniper blessing, was found stabbed over 40 times in a violent hate crime a month and a half ago
IT CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE
as long as there are bigots, it can happen anywhere
Dude this shit happens in San Francisco where are you
Not in fucking California that’s what. Thank god for that. I’m around Chicago. Not going to get more specific for obvious reasons, but I’m not Chicago proper
Yeah, I don’t get more specific than the Bay Area either. I was aiming for A Cave or Somewhere Small Enough We Know Everyone And Beat The Everloving Shit Out Of Anyone Who Tries To Harm One Hair On Our Beloved Queers’ Head, it doesn’t seem like there’s much middle ground anymore. The problem with moving somewhere large enough to hide in is, well, anyone can hide there.
I live in a city. Not a small town. A small city… Though frankly uptown/gaytown/andersonville in chicago is the best of most worlds.
large town/small city sizes get fucky out here in california. your small city is probably the same size as my large town. it’s really down to the character of the place and that’s a very blurry line.
i like places where it’s still small enough you get a lot of rural and urban overlap. more people more walks of life meet. The only way i know to force through prejudice is with proximity.
Uptoot for Pittsburgh. Best of both worlds. Really small city with a big city vibe. Lots of restaurants and different neighborhoods with a lot of differential vibes. Also very bike-able, I can bike from Southside to Lawrenceville in 30 mins.
Uh, which one? I’ve been to CA and PA and they are both great for different (and a few of the same) reasons.
Folk define big and small city as it suits them. Like the folk I would visit out at the farm in Oregon, that town is like 1500 people. They all look like me, we’re all related. When I went to church with great gran, they asked where I was from. A town of about [low hundred thousands]. They goggled and exclaimed i was from a big city.
The largest building in town was the hospital back then, which was the only three floor building in my town. Yeah, we have a lot of people but we’re packed in tight. Our “downtown”, which is currently one block long on one street, did not exist back then. It’s less to do with size and more to do with general ambiance.
Your federal government is actively pursuing this atmosphere of hate and terror.
So yeah, it is all of the fucking USA. Don’t start with the ‘buh my city is good’.
Yup. And even if one location is simply perfect in every way, the demons in this administration will start putting on pressure to “fix” that - whether it’s sending in the likes of ICE or threatening institutions with defunding them unless they are nastier, etc…
Yes, if we don’t fix shit the future will be worse. That much is obvious — but we live in the present, and I’m making statements about the present.
That’s complete ignorance of how governance works in the usa.
It does happen there.
Literally no. We don’t ignore trans people who are hurt for being trans. Violent crimes in general are very low, much less targeted hate. I know it’s hard to wrap your head around, a community actually caring?