LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – President Joe Biden’s pronouncement of Easter Sunday as Transgender Day of Visibility has sparked widespread controversy.
While March 31 traditionally recognizes the transgender community, the decision to align it with Easter Sunday, a revered Christian holiday symbolising Jesus Christ’s resurrection, has intensified the debate.
āOn Transgender Day of Visibility, we honour the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nationās commitment to forming a more perfect Union ā where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives,ā a statement released by the White House on Friday read.
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āToday, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire administration and I have your back,ā it continued. āNOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility,ā the statement declared.
After the White House announcement, people took to social media, including politicians and Christians, to criticise the decision. One user from the X app, Hillbilly Homemaker, said, “The White House has declared open war on Christians. And still, Christ is King.” Politicians and other figures also shared their views.
Donald Trump Jr. wrote, āBiden is banning religious symbols from Easter celebrations at the White House, while flying the trans flag and declaring Easter Sunday to be āTrans Visibility Day.ā
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This is the leftās new religion. They want people worshipping the trans flag instead of God. They must be stopped.ā
Earlier, the Biden administration stirred controversy by banning religious symbols in the 2024 Easter Egg Roll art contest, a traditional event at the White House. Children from National Guard families were instructed not to showcase religious symbols.
Former presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, wrote, āJoe Biden just proclaimed that āTransgender Visibility Dayā is on Sunday, March 31st. I wonder how he came up with that date.ā
Some social media users defended the president, noting that the Transgender Day of visibility has had a consistent date of March 31 since 2010. “It has never changed. Easter does,” one user wrote.
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According to a fact-check report by Reuters, the Transgender Day of Visibility has indeed been celebrated on March 31 for years. Meanwhile, the date of Easter varies annually, based on specific rules involving the spring equinox and lunar phases. Last year, Easter fell on April 9, while in 2022, it was on April 17.