PHILADELPHIA – The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) unanimously upholds an unwavering commitment to ending harassment and violence towards LGBTQA+ by standing with Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of the PA Department of Health. This decision by the GPPA Steering Committee on August 16 was made in response to the continued transphobic attacks Levine has incurred. The platform of the Green Party of the U.S. says, "We affirm the right of choosing non-binary and gender fluid identifications. We therefore support the right of individuals to be free from coercion and involuntary assignment of gender or sex."

Green Party of Pennsylvania
https://www.gpofpa.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 24, 2020

CONTACT
Tina Olson, [email protected];
Chris Robinson, Communication Team, [email protected]

Levine has helped Pennsylvanians receive the best advisories and resources to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. Tina Olson (Hellertown), an organizer for Lehigh Valley Green Party, said, "We are proud to offer our encouragement and support to all Pennsylvanians of varying sexual orientations and gender identities. We collectively see our Secretary of Health as a heroine to all of us in the fight for social justice and equality among marginalized communities. We also recognize the incredible devotion Levine has exhibited by providing our Commonwealth with her expertise during this evolving health crisis."

In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, it is truly unfortunate that the conversation has gotten twisted into an excuse to incite hatred and intolerance from both elected officials (who are expected to adhere to basic ethics, equal opportunity laws, and principles) and internet trolls (who represent the worst among us).

One of the predominant themes of these attacks is the tendency to misgender Levine, which is a hateful theme of transphobia. These acts are ignorant, unfounded, and dangerous to our overall health as they are an attempt to undermine Levine's work as a top-tier medical professional. Having to combat the conspiracy-driven, anti-mask crowd while keeping her head above brutal harassment, Levine has shown nothing but a steady hand in the face of adversity.

From online attacks to incidents meant to devalue Levine and her life's work, she has maintained grace and dignified professionalism in the line of fire. In a recent press briefing she said, "I want to emphasize that while these individuals might think they are only expressing their displeasure with me, they are in fact hurting thousands of LGBTQ Pennsylvanians who suffer directly from these current demonstrations of harassment."

Chris Robinson (Philadelphia), leader of the GPPA Communication Team, pointed out, "The Spring GPPA Delegates Meeting took a unanimous stand against gender and transphobic harassment." Following that decision, Garret Wasserman, vice-chair of the Green Party of Allegheny County, said "To fully support the Green Party's 10 Key Values, Greens must celebrate diversity and be inclusive and welcoming to all genders and sexual orientations, including non-binary and transgender folks who still face misunderstandings in society and even sometimes violent transphobia."

As a graduate of Harvard University, Tulane University, Mt. Sinai Hospital, and as an accomplished pediatrician and professor at Penn Medicine, we should be marveling in the work Levine has done for all of us. From her team-building to combat eating disorders, to raising two children, to becoming one of the few transgendered individuals that hold an official government office, Levine has served as hope for younger generations to live in a world where we truly embrace each others' diversity.

The Green Party insists that personal and individual freedom for all was the hope outlined for us in the conception of the U.S. Constitution. Hatred should have no home in the land of the free.

The GPPA is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party's Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, and Twitter.

For more information, please see:

Green Party U.S. Platform; II. Social Justice; 5. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, https://www.gp.org/social_justice/#sjCivilRights;

"Dr. Rachel Levine responds to transphobic comments: 'I do not have time for intolerance'" by Madasyn Lee, TribLive.com, July 28, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/dr-rachel-levine-responds-to-transphobic-comments-i-do-not-have-time-for-intolerance/;

"PA Greens support Lavender Greens on Gender Affirmation," GPPA News Release, April 7, 2020, https://www.gpofpa.org/pa_greens_support_lavender_greens_on_gender_affirmation; and

Lavender Greens Caucus, Green Party of the U.S.,
https://www.facebook.com/LavenderGreens and https://www.lavendergreens.net/about.