My name is Melissa Sklarz and I am an elected Democratic district leader in the 30th Assembly District in Woodside, Queens, and the only openly transgender elected official in New York.
On Dec. 11, the $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) was presented to the House of Representatives and passed by a vote of 281-140, with 81 Democrats voting in favor. The US Senate also passed the legislation and President Joe Biden signed it into law.
Among the many things in the “must-pass” NDAA was Section 708, inserted by Republicans, which would restrict gender-affirming care for children of service members. A 2022 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that at least 2,500 children sought such care, covered by TRICARE, the military health insurer. This vital care will now be denied to these service members’ families. When given the choice between protecting or hurting military families, those voting in favor of the NDAA with Section 708 chose to prevent trans kids from getting medically approved services in spite of their doctor’s treatment plans and their family’s wishes.
While most of New York City’s Democratic Delegation in the House voted no because of this poisonous and discriminatory clause, among those voting in favor were Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Greg Meeks, and anti-trans Rep. Tom Suozzi. It is especially troubling that the highest ranking Democrat in the House, who fully understands the right-wing agenda this country faces under Trump and Speaker Johnson, and a key committee ranking member voted to throw trans New Yorkers under the bus.
In addition to serving as the Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Meeks is also the chair of the Queens County Democratic Party. As I am a district leader and the secretary of the Queens County Democratic Party, that makes us not only colleagues, but friends. I have been a member of the Queens Democratic leadership team since 2020 and was re-elected for a third term this past June.
I reached out to Rep. Meeks after I saw his anti-trans yes vote. I reminded him that Queens County has the largest trans population in New York State and that we look to him for leadership in Washington. I reminded him that allowing the Republican, hyper-reactionary leaders in Washington to discriminate only begins with children. After this will be threats to eliminating trans people in the military, and then perhaps ending marriage equality in the military and beyond, and then possibly deporting service members brought to America as undocumented immigrant children. This is what is at stake in 2025 as Trump and his allies gleefully move against a host of Americans in more ways than I can list here.
Congressman Meeks returned my initial text by telling me he was out of the country and would get back to me upon his return. I have yet to receive a substantive reply from him.
We trans New Yorkers need friends in City Hall, in Albany, and in Washington. We are a tiny minority of people who must constantly educate our friends and advocate for decent, sensible, and fair public policy while hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst in 2025. The effort by right-wing Republicans to endlessly demonize and further marginalize a terribly underserved and underrepresented minority is already breathtaking and will likely get worse.
Minority Leader Jeffries and Congressman Meeks owe all of us, as New Yorkers, an explanation as to why it is now acceptable for the US government to separate and discriminate against us based on our identity as we face a new, very dark reality with the incoming Trump regime, including why it is ok to target trans people.
