(The Pluralist)
In response to reports that transgender woman Layleen Polcano was found dead in a Rikers Island jail cell, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez complained that such prisoners are too often misgendered upon their arrest.
“I have met w/ trans constituents who were put in Rikers,” the New York democrat tweeted. “These women told me about being misgendered upon arrest (even post-surgery), &forced in cells w/ men, putting them in extreme risk. It’s hard to get treatments, too. Layleen’s family deserves to know what happened to her.”
I'm also disappointed by news coverage that continues to misgender and dead name trans people who have died. A major outlet needlessly published her dead name last night and had to be corrected. I really wish folks in media would educate themselves on these issues. Not hard.
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) June 10, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez has frequently and unabashedly expressed her allyship with the LGBT community. Read more