About 700 people gathered on Friday evening for Boise’s first “March for Transgender Joy.”
The march began at 8th and Jefferson Streets near the Idaho Statehouse with speeches from community members. Then, the nearly 700 participants walked to the Anne Frank Memorial, where drag performers danced to a live DJ set.
Standing in the memorial’s amphitheater, Bonnie Violet, the main organizer of Boise’s Trans March, told the crowd that the event was organized in just two months.
“We have had to bring so much together. We have local, regional and national partners who sent money - this is trans and non-binary people out in public in Idaho."
Violet says this gathering was meant to counter Idaho’s political climate, which she says can be hostile to trans individuals.
“This is not the first time trans people are fighting for themselves. It may be one of the first times that we are intentionally full of frickin’ joy in public,” said Violet.
The Idaho legislature has passed laws in recent years limiting health care for trans and non-binary people. Just recently, a federal judge issued an injunction against an Idaho house bill that would restrict public funds for gender-affirming care.
Former Idaho Sen. Cole LeFavour spoke at the event. They said they were surprised by how many people showed up.
“To just see this day where this trans march is as big as our whole pride was in 1993 is so beautiful.”
Volunteer organizer Preston Pace says this event was planned to be more of a celebration than a demonstration.
“It is so common for this community in particular, to focus on grief and resilience, just basically the struggle of being so marginalized," said Pace. "Instead, we focused on this march purely on the joy and the celebration of it.”
Multiple human rights organizations were there, including Scott Sippy of the Humanists of Idaho, who came to support trans rights and social equality.
“We're all equal. We're all humans. And we all should work together to make the Earth a better place,” Sippy said.
Participants wrote messages of support on carnations, and added them to a statue created by local artists. The march concluded back at Boise Pride’s opening night.
