Joe Kennedy iII

Congressman Joe Kennedy III waving at a parade in 2012.

(Martin Grondin, Creative Commons)

Pointing to the seven transgender women who were reportedly killed in the first two months of 2017, U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Brookline, pledged Thursday to lead the fight against policies and "hate-inspired violence" that threaten the LGBTQ community.

Kennedy, who will chair the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus' newly relaunched Transgender Equality Task Force, acknowledged that while the panel has "a rocky road ahead," the reported killings and recent actions by President Donald Trump's administration make its work more critical than ever.

"We will fight back against a Justice and an Education Department that turns a blind eye to discrimination in our schools," he said, referencing the recent rollback of protections for transgender students in schools during a Capitol Hill news conference.

"We'll fight back against a health care system that treats transgender Americans as second-class citizens. We'll fight back against our own colleagues, members of Congress that try to undermine religious liberty in this country by using it to support state-sanctioned discrimination," the congressman continued. "And we'll fight back against a scourge of hate-based and hate-inspired violence that plagues the transgender community every single day, particularly transgender women of color."

LIVE: The LGBT Equality Caucus relaunches the Trans Equality Task Force!! Posted by Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus on Thursday, March 2, 2017

Contending that "a threat to any civil right is a threat to all civil rights," Kennedy read the names of Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, Mesha Caldwell, JoJo Striker, Tiara Richmond, Chyna Doll Dupree, Ciara McElveen and Jaquarrius Holland -- the transgender women whom he said have "lost their lives to violence so far this year alone."

"This country owes them better ... and this task force will fight every day to deliver better." he argued.

Kennedy, who pushed for passage of Massachusetts' transgender public accommodation law, further reaffirmed his commitment to representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, stressing that he will stand with them.

"No matter the opposition, no matter the setbacks, no matter who occupies the Oval Office, we see you, we hear you and we are with you," he said, echoing remarks he made following the Trump administration's late-February ordering of public schools to disregard controversial memos issued under President Barack Obama regarding protections for transgender students.

Kennedy said the task force will focus on three main areas: health care access and disparities, public safety and violence against transgender men and women, and education and school environments.

In addition to pushing legislation to address issues facing the LGBTQ community, the congressman said the panel will continue promoting the stories of transgender individuals.

"One of the most impactful ways people can get accustomed to or open their eyes to some of these challenges is by meeting with members of these communities," he said in an interview. "When I spent some time with parents and children and students in the transgender community back home, it was impactful for me ... the task force can be a forum where people can come in and have their voices heard."

The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus created the Transgender Equality Task Force in November 2015 to study "barriers to full legal and societal equality faced by the transgender community" and to lead legislative efforts to address them.

It announced the working group's re-launch Thursday.