President Donald Trump is facing criticism over a controversial decision to alter a historical monument, with opponents calling the move “cruel and petty.”
On Thursday, February 13, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that all references to transgender individuals had been removed from the official website of New York’s Stonewall National Monument. The change was made in accordance with an executive order signed by the 78-year-old president on his first day back in office.
According to the White House, the order was intended to “restore biological truth to the federal government.”
The Stonewall National Monument, located in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, was designated in 2016 to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a key moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The movement was led by both gay and trans activists, yet recent revisions to the site’s official federal description have eliminated any mention of transgender individuals.
Previously, the monument’s website recognized its role in advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights. However, the updated version now shortens the term to “LGB.” The site now states: “Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal. The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, is a milestone in the quest for LGB civil rights and provided momentum for a movement.”
Trump’s decision has sparked outrage on social media, with Democratic lawmakers and LGBTQ+ advocates condemning the change.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul denounced the edits as “cruel and petty,” stating on X (formerly Twitter): “Transgender people play a critical role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights – and New York will never allow their contributions to be erased.”
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes Stonewall, also criticized the move, stating: “It’s an attack on the truth, it’s an attack on the transgender community, and it’s an attack on the very values of justice and equality that we as a nation claim to uphold,” according to News.com.au.
Protests erupted outside the monument on Friday, with activists voicing their frustration.
E. Garcia, one of the demonstrators, told journalist Shannon Power: “You can’t erase trans people, especially with Stonewall, and that’s the attempt that’s trying to be made when trans people were the ones that started the riot.”
Another protester, Meghan, described the change as a “slap in the face,” adding: “If the queer community hadn’t been available to me, I wouldn’t be available right now.”
This action is one of several executive orders from the two-time president targeting transgender rights. Since returning to office, Trump has implemented policies restricting transgender participation in female sports, transferring transgender women in prison to male facilities, rolling back protections for transgender military personnel, and removing transgender-related health information from government websites.
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a group that supports U.S. national parks, has condemned the changes.
“Erasing letters or web pages does not change the history or the contributions of our transgender community members at Stonewall or anywhere else,” said NPCA’s Timothy Leonard.
The executive order is already being challenged in court, with civil rights groups arguing that it violates constitutional protections.
