Protestors mobilize outside The White House Monday to advocate for transgender rights.

WASHINGTON – LGBT activists rallied outside the White House on Monday in response to the Trump administration’s consideration to define transgender people as nonexistent under federal law.

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Several advocacy groups joined forces to organize the event – including The Human Rights Campaign and Trans Equality Now. The rally began with several cheers of “trans rights are human rights,” as members of The Human Rights Campaign marched in from President’s Park South to join protesters.

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“Discrimination, even when it has a pretty White House seal on it, has no place here,” a trans rights activist said.

Hundreds of people were mobilized in solidarity – including members of the transgender community, parents of transgender people and allies. The event featured a lineup of well-known speakers who encouraged protesters to be politically active and fight for trans rights.

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“I hope this protest brings comfort to people in the trans community who are being unfairly attacked by this administration,” said protester Kamilah Tisdale. “I hope this shows the administration and other politicians that we are not going to stand by and let them erase civil rights for people in this country.”

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Speakers encouraged members of the trans community to take pride in their identity and find strength in self-empowerment, despite the political challenges the community is currently facing.

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“Trans people exist because self-power, self-existence, self-love,” said trans rights advocate Ruby Corado, “I give myself permission to exist. No one can take away my pride of who I am.”

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Members of the trans community and their allies were inspired by the words of the speakers, who were mainly composed of famous trans activists and lawyers.

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“I wish it could go all day,” said protestor Liam Doughtie. “I took off work because I could not stand to be so close by and not be here. To see some of these people speak today, who I’ve been following online for a while, was heartwarming.”

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The protest thematically emphasized the importance of solidarity and community empowerment during this period in American history and the Trump administration.

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“We are not alone. We have each other. We have the community. We have our allies,” a trans rights activist said.

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Messages surrounding positive-thinking and determination accompanied the protest’s encouragement of solidarity.

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“The world has changed a lot in the past 21 years and we are not going back,” a trans rights activist said.

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The trans community and their allies asked others to become more vocal and active in the fight for trans rights.

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“People could be louder. They could show up to protests. They could talk to their families and their coworkers. Tell everyone. Let people know that trans people are people,” said protestor Doughtie.

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While the community is going through political challenges and fighting for equality today, they hope that one day trans rights can become synonymous with human rights.

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“My vision for the future of trans rights is that it does not even need to be its own category. That trans rights are just human rights,” said protester Molly Morrison.