Transgender individuals and allies are coming together Friday afternoon to protest the Department of Health and Human Services proposed definition which would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with, according to a draft reviewed by The Times.

The protest will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. on the west capitol grounds of the Iowa State Capitol.

The event was created and hosted by Lou Ramsey and Kylä Paterson, two activists for transgender rights in Iowa.

“Anyone who cares about the trans or nonbinary community should come to support us, even if you’re not super well acquainted with gender issues,” Ramsey said. “As long as you have an open heart and care about people, this rally can be a place for you to learn and love.” 

191 individuals have stated on the Facebook event that they are attending and over 1,200 individuals have stated they are interested in attending.

“This protest is in retaliation to the Trump Administration’s attempt to redefine gender in a way to exclude transgender and nonbinary people from basic human rights. We will not be erased or eradicated,” according the facebook event.

The protest has a list of speakers who will be advocating for transgender rights including Lou Ramsey, one of the event organizers and a local trans activist; Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel.

Other speakers include:

• Buffy Jamison, OneIowa representative
• Codii Lewis, local trans activist
• Emily Ewing, a pastor
• Robin White, a local trans activist
• Holly Herbert, an ally and activist
• Ako Abdul-Sammad, a Iowa State Representative for the 35th district;
• Sophia Stone, a local trans activist;
• Connie Ryan, the director of Interfaith Alliance;
• Kylä Paterson, one of the event organizers and a trans activist from Iowa City.

“[This event] shows that we as a people do not and will not tolerate the revocation of human rights for a large group of people like the trans community, and it also sends a message to the government to stop terrorizing minority communities for the sake of gaining votes,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey asks that attendees be respectful and said “No racism, colorism, sexism, misogyny/transmisogyny, ableism or homophobia will be tolerated.”

“Some of our attendees, though they might be dressed in gender affirming clothes might not be comfortable being out to everyone, so if you’re planning to publish pics online PLEASE ask permission to show their face and/or name. Wear warm clothing, bring signs, and get ready to chant and yell,” Ramsey said.