Members of the state’s transgender community expressed joy and pride on International Transgender Day of Visibility with an afternoon of impassioned speeches, calls to action, and laughter at the Capitol.

In the face of threats to their safety and attacks on their rights at the national level, many said they also felt grateful to call Connecticut home.

“The price of being an out, trans, gender non-conforming, non-binary American, is to risk everything: our relationships, our jobs, our rights, and I’m afraid, potentially, our freedom,” said Dawn Ennis, one of the organizers of West Hartford Pride. “I don’t need to tell you the stakes. I don’t need to tell you what you’re risking — what I’m risking — just by being visible.”

Connecticut has emerged as a relative safe haven for the transgender community over the past few months, since President Donald Trump returned to office and issued a flurry of executive orders targeting their rights. They include prohibitions on transgender girls from participating in school sports teams, a ban of transgender service members in the military and a ban on children under 19 from accessing gender-affirming care.

Lawsuits challenging those orders have in turn been working their way through the courts. But despite having policies that support the transgender community, Connecticut has so far flown under the radar, even as Maine’s Gov. Janet Mills was reprimanded in-person by Trump at a White House event for refusing to ban transgender athletes. Her state has seen numerous targeted funding cuts since.

At a recent Connecticut Mirror event, Gov. Ned Lamont, who was sitting next to Mills at the time of her confrontation with Trump, recalled watching how Mills handled the heat.

“I was really proud of Janet Mills to tell you the truth,” Lamont said. “I thought Janet Mills handled it just right.”

In 2024, Connecticut also took steps to launch a tourism initiative to let members of the LGBTQ+ community know that they can find acceptance in the state.

And on Monday Lamont wrote on X: “Trans people are people just like everyone else and deserve to have their rights protected. To the transgender community in Connecticut: We see you, we celebrate you, and we’ve got your back.”

But Connecticut has also been a site of controversy on the issue. A lawsuit filed by female athletes opposing transgender athletes from participating on sports teams, was filed in a Connecticut district court, and one of the country’s most prominent activists opposing transgender athletes lives in Darien.

Aaron Miller, a transgender pastor, told Monday’s gathering that today’s attacks are history repeating itself.

“These times are not new to us. Some of us, many of us here, have lived this before — and we know what Stonewall was,” said Aaron Miller, a transgender man and pastor. Miller was citing the confrontations between members of the gay community and police at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in 1969 that served as a turning point in that community’s struggle for civil rights. “It’s time for another movement, but this time for the transgender community.”

Rep. MJ Shannon, D-Milford, a 24-year-old lawmaker and member of the LGBTQ+ Caucus, pledged to support the transgender community. “Through our work here at the legislature, we’re making sure that trans voices are not just heard — they’re at the center of the policies and initiatives that shape our state,” Shannon said. “Because visibility isn’t just about being seen. It’s about being respected, protected and valued in every space, whether it’s our schools, our workplaces, our health care systems or our homes.”

June Carpenter, a 17-year-old transgender high school senior student, was among the speakers who emphasized the importance of celebrating her identity joyously. She said that too often the discussion of trans lives are rooted in struggle and resilience against adversity.

“While these narratives are valid, they are not everything,” she said. “Our lives are not solely about struggle. They’re about thriving, about love, about laughter, about the simple yet radical act of existing in a world that often misunderstands us.”

Brianna Skowera, the organizer of Middletown Pride, said that she remembers a time when transgender people were pushed to the margins. She celebrated their role in every corner of society.

“We are journalists, we are activists, we are celebrities, we are authors who are proud of our journey,” Skowera said. “But even more important, we are visible in the day-to-day life in our communities. Trans people are grocery store clerks, we are baristas, we are phone operators, we are homemakers, we are parents, we are teachers. We are the neighbors that you live with.”

Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, who served as the master of ceremony at the event, said that while Transgender Day of Visibility had been celebrated at the capitol in the past, Monday’s event carried more weight.

“As you’ve heard from these speakers, the threats are greater,” Bysiewicz said. “There’s so much hate, so much attempt to divide and discriminate, I think it makes today’s celebration so much more important.”

A local immigration attorney warned Monday that undocumented Venezuelan immigrants in Connecticut have until April 7 to apply for Temporary Protected Status, which allows them to work legally.

Dennis Bradley said, “I really want the local Venezuelan community to know that temporary protected status is still available for them, that they should try to seek that form of relief, and for those who also qualify in our local Venezuelan community, asylum continues to be a form of relief for many folks who are seeking a permanent stay here in the United States.” He noted applications can be filed online.

For centuries, the Governor’s Guard has served Connecticut participating in parades, escorting state heads, helping out the community and stepping up in times of need.

On Sunday, the First Company Horse Guard welcomed seven recruits to join the approximately 20 troopers it already has. The recruits will undergo a 16 week-long training session where they learn how to ride and take care of a horse.

“You can’t find a place like this anywhere in the country,” said First Lieutenant Amanda Matava, who has been working with the horses in Avon for six years. “We serve the community; we instill a sense of pride and civic duty in people that see us.”

“Carrying on tradition and maintaining our history is so important,” said recruit trainer Lieutenant Kathryn LaCroix. “If we stop what we were doing, we lose all of that history.”

The faith of the Horse Guard is up for debate at the Capitol as legislators have introduced a bill which aims transition the Governor’s Guard from organized militia funded by the state to a private military force.

“Privatization is not feasible,” said Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard Lieutenant Barbara Mazzara at in opposition of the bill at a public hearing in January. “The cost, time requirements and facility management would be far too much for this all-volunteer unit. If this bill passes it would be the tragic end of something great.”

But supporters of the bill argued that it’s a way to modernize the Horse Guard.

“I don’t see why the state wouldn’t be able to allocate some funds towards that cause regardless of the status,” said Major Christopher Coutu of the Connecticut Army National Guard in support of the bill at that same hearing. “Because we do it all the time for non-profits and other entities that support our mission.”

The bill has been voted favorable and is tabled for the calendar.