revolutionary socialist struggle for queer liberation
As queer workers and youth face increased repression in Trump’s second term, we need to bring back real, militant organizing to the struggle for queer liberation. The rights won by the queer movement were won through consistent, independent, organized action by working-class LGBTQ activists. We can defeat the attacks from the Trump administration in our workplaces and in the streets and win our rights.
The capitalist class is on the offensive: attacking queer, trans, and workers’ rights. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” slashes funding for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, gutting access to gender-affirming care, and pushing millions off their health insurance. In Texas, one of the largest children’s hospitals in the U.S. agreed to a settlement with the Trump administration over providing gender-affirming care which included the hospital paying $10 million in fines, firing five of its doctors, and opening the country’s first “detransition” clinic. Republicans in states like Indiana and Tennessee have declared June “Nuclear Family Month.” These actions embolden far right extremists, leading to an increase in harassment and hate crimes.
While the Republicans ramp up attacks, the Democrats fail to defend our rights. Biden and the Democratic Party allowed the rollback of Roe v. Wade, after refusing to codify it for years. 81 Democrats voted for the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which bans gender-affirming military health insurance to those under 18. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom publicly agreed with Charlie Kirk that trans women should be banned from women’s sports.
The queer movement should take up the struggle to build an independent workers’ party, completely separate from the two corporate parties and any corporate money. This would give working people a real political platform to fight back against homophobic and transphobic attacks. A working-class political party could organize for our rights and decent living standards, including: a higher minimum wage, affordable housing, trans-inclusive healthcare for all, and free higher education. Unions can help organize for LGBTQ rights and a workers’ party to add workers power to the fight against the Trump regime. Building a workers’ party can link our struggles with ending ICE terror, cutting the record funding for billionaires’ wars, and reversing the gutting of social programs.
The capitalist system has created and sustains the oppression of queer people, people of color, disabled people, and the overall exploitation of the working class. True liberation is only possible when we fight the underlying system of capitalism that maintains and profits off of our collective oppression. This Pride, we need renewed militancy in the fight for queer liberation and for a socialist world.
The Independent Socialist Group (ISG) calls for:
- End discrimination and violence against the LGBTQ community, and all forms of homophobia and transphobia. Defend the right to transition and self-identify, including legal identification.
- Free, high-quality healthcare for all, including comprehensive gender-affirming care and free reproductive services such as safe and accessible abortions. Teach comprehensive and inclusive sex education in schools.
- Raising the federal minimum wage to $30/hour.
- Nationwide rent control and a rent freeze, and a massive expansion of public housing funded by taxing the rich and corporations. End homelessness!
- A mass, diverse, workers’ party drawing together workers, unions, young people, oppressed communities, and activists from environmental, civil rights, women’s and other mass movements, to provide a fighting political alternative to the two capitalist parties.
- For revolutionary socialism to win queer liberation!
Independent Socialist Group 