Amid Concern Over Trump Order, New Yorkers Rally to Support Trans Youth

Bells, drums and chants rang out Saturday afternoon in Union Square in Manhattan as thousands of New Yorkers gathered to protest an executive order from the Trump administration targeting transgender children and teens.

The order, which threatens to withhold federal funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming treatments to trans youth, has left many local families worried and reeling.

At the rally, parents and children came together with activists and lawmakers to share their stories and call for action against President Trump’s policies.

Juno Krebs, 10, a nonbinary student from Brooklyn, said the executive order was “scary” and that it felt like the administration was “trying to take away our rights.”

“I don’t identify as a girl or a boy, and I should be respected for that,” Juno said. “It doesn’t feel any different. It just feels like me, honestly.”

For Michelle Byron, the mother of a transgender and nonbinary teenager, the order has raised painful and frightening questions about her child’s ability to continue receiving gender-affirming care, which can include hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgery, though such procedures are rare for minors.

“It’s always been a little bit scary because there’s so much hate out there, but the most important thing for me as a mom is to support my child no matter what,” Ms. Byron said.

Access to that care, she added, holding back tears, probably saved her child’s life.

Parents, transgender children, faith leaders and L.G.B.T.Q. activists addressed the crowd near the center of the square in Lower Manhattan, while demonstrators held signs reading “Protect Trans Kids” and “Trans Healthcare Saved My Life.”

At one point during the rally, the crowd sang along to the tune of “This Little Light of Mine,” swapping some of the lyrics to fit the occasion: “Trans kids everywhere, we’re gonna let them shine. Let ’em shine, let ’em shine, let ’em shine.”

Among the speakers was Mirah Curzer, whose 6-year-old daughter is trans. “Fear is not the answer,” Ms. Curzer told the crowd.

“Our kids are on the front lines of the great battles of our time” she said. “They are fighting for you, so will you fight for them?”

Eliel Cruz, a founder of the Gender Liberation Movement, one of the rally’s organizers, said that he hoped the demonstration would show trans children and young people that there was a community of New Yorkers who cared about them and who saw them “as they are.”

“The few people in power currently who are trying to demonize them and take away their health care are not the majority of people,” Mr. Cruz said.

New York City hospitals have been leaders in providing gender-affirming care. But after President Trump signed the executive order threatening to withhold federal funding, some hospitals have begun canceling appointments and postponing surgeries for pediatric transgender patients.

If hospitals resist, the order threatens to end their research funding and cut off their access to government insurance programs, like Medicare and Medicaid. But if they comply, hospitals could find themselves in direct conflict with New York State’s anti-discrimination laws, and doctors could risk abandoning their patients and their ethical duties to care for them.

Mr. Cruz said that the rally on Saturday was intended as a demonstration of force and to remind those hospitals that have canceled appointments that this “cannot stand.” “We expect them to reverse their decisions,” he said.

An Winslow, a transgender and nonbinary 12-year-old who uses the pronouns they and them, attended the rally with their mother.

“I don’t want to see our whole country become transphobic and homophobic,” An said.

Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic mayoral candidate and a state assemblymen from Queens, said he attended the rally “to stand up for these children.”

“You need not even know a trans New Yorker to stand up for trans New Yorkers,” he said. “This is a trial of all of us to see who we are willing to give up. And our answer is no one.”

Claire Valdez, a Democratic assemblywoman from Queens, attended the rally and said that gender-affirming care was a human right that every New Yorker deserved.

“New York City has long been a sanctuary for all kinds of communities, trans communities especially, and for our hospitals to be falling short of their promises to our kids who need that health care — it’s unconscionable,” she said.

Justin Krebs, Juno’s father, described the news of the canceled appointments as “a sign of cowardice on the part of institutions.” While his family hadn’t been directly affected by the cancellations, Mr. Krebs said, he knew families who had.

“We’re scared and angry on their behalf,” he said.

Among the children addressing the crowd was Simon, a nonbinary 11-year-old who uses they and them pronouns and who did not want to share their last name because of safety concerns.

“Being a trans and nonbinary kid in these times can be tough, sometimes it really hurts. But I think it’s important to pick yourself and go on,” Simon said. “This is what the world is, and it’s important to fight on.”