Local people at the Trans Rights rally held in April this year in response to the Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. The current mayor, Becca Horn, is at the front in a pink jumpsuit.

Hastings says NO to transphobia

Over 1,100 people have signed a petition proclaiming that ‘Hastings is Proudly Trans inclusive – Let’s Keep it That Way’. Erica Smith reports.

The petition was started by local residents who were sad and angry to read an article in Hastings Independent Press that repeated misleading, inaccurate and derogatory points about trans people. The timing of the article – coming a month after the hugely successful Trans Pride Hastings and just a week before Hastings Pride was particularly divisive.

East Sussex is among the most LGBT-friendly areas of the UK and Hastings has long been a diverse and welcoming community that thrives on inclusion. The petition captured this spirit and on the first day over 500 people signed it to show support of the trans community in Hastings, rising to 1,000 signatures within a week.

The speaker at the 19 April rally was Victoria Oldman – trans campaigner and co-founder of Hastings Trans Pride.

Co-founder of Trans Pride Hastings, Victoria Oldman, stated: “Hastings and St Leonards has time and time again proven to be an enormously welcoming and accepting place for the trans community. We will continue to proudly demonstrate this to show that Hastings is not only a place where Trans and Non Binary folks are supported, but can thrive. There is absolutely no place for hate or exclusion of any sort in our town.”

Becca Horn, Mayor of Hastings, said; “Last month I attended the Hastings Trans Pride Picnic up at the Museum. It was a truly heart-warming event that evoked a positive, inclusive community vibe. I can think of no safer or more welcoming place than to be amongst people who respect each other’s right to exist in all our beautiful variety, and who show up with kindness and compassion in the face of increasing prejudice and malice.”

Women’s Voice, a charity run by women for all women in Hastings and St Leonards, including trans women said; “There is no liberation and safety for women without liberation and safety for trans people. Now more than ever is the time to stand together in solidarity for the sake of our rights.”

You can read and choose to sign the petition by following this link to More Love, Less Hate on change.org. Additionally, all cis women who want to show support for their trans sisters are invited to sign the ‘Not in our Name’ petition, which has gained over 40,000 signatures.

From the 19 April rally in Hastings town centre.

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