We, the undersigned, urge the organisations petitioned by ‘Drop the T’ to disregard their call to disassociate themselves from promoting the issues of trans people alongside the rest of the LGBTQ+ community.

We find the petition by ‘Drop the T’ to be insulting, inaccurate and transphobic and we want to make it clear that this narrow group of people do not speak for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.

There are many ways in which the views of 'Drop the T' display inaccuracy, bigotry and intolerance, but presented below are some of the main points:

- 'Drop the T' and their supporters argue that trans people are guilty of the ‘vilification and harassment of women and gay/lesbian individuals who openly express disagreement with trans ideology’, but present no evidence to support their claims. They clearly seek to silence trans voices and fail to appreciate the need for trans people and their allies to challenge the transphobia that still exists within our society. They are ignoring the fact that trans people also suffer from open intolerance and ignorance from some within the LGBTQ+ community, and are far more likely to be targets of verbal abuse and physical violence.

- 'Drop the T' also promote open disregard for the rights of trans people to obtain access to services and facilities as appropriate to their gender. They claim that women suffer from the ‘infringement’ of their rights to safe spaces such as bathrooms because of ‘men claiming to be transgender’. By this, 'Drop the T' are not only ignoring the right of trans people to have access to safe spaces, but they are openly insulting and dehumanising trans women through the use of the term ‘claiming to be transgender’, essentially suggesting that cis men are attempting to gain access to safe spaces through deception.

Further to this point, and despite the assertion of 'Drop the T' to the contrary, such notions are openly transphobic, not to mention completely ignorant. There is no evidence that cis men ‘pretend’ to be trans to access such safe areas. We do not wish the rest of the LGBTQ+ community to be associated with any group of people who seek to spread such intolerance and wilful ignorance. It is inaccurate and harmful and feeds into a dangerous rhetoric that seeks to perceive trans people as a ‘threat’. Such views encourage a corresponding increase in threats and violence towards trans people. We unequivocally object to this.

- We reject the notion that cis gay men have been written out of historical narratives by the recent depiction of the Stonewall riots, and we support the efforts of media outlets such as The Advocate Out and Huff Post Gay Voices (amongst others) in making sure that the role of the wider LGBTQ+ community in those events is known.

- We also object to the concerns expressed by 'Drop the T' regarding the support shown to trans children. It is beyond patronising to argue that the medical profession has been persuaded against its better judgement to support children who identify as trans from an early age. We applaud parents and health professionals who support trans children from an early age, thereby helping them get the emotional, psychological and physical support they need.

To suggest that trans children ‘in most cases, grow up to be well-adjusted gay men and women’ is a completely unfounded and unsupported nation. It also displays the hypocrisy of the people who have presented the ‘Drop the T’ petition. They are using arguments that have been used against cis homosexuals in the past - that they will ‘grow out’ of what they are. Not only is this wholly inaccurate and offensive, but we believe that they should know better than to promote such notions. Their arguments are no more developed than a ‘Will no one think of the children’ narrative and will directly contribute to the harming of children and young people who identify as trans.

In conclusion, we utterly reject the notion that the association of trans rights and issues under the LGBTQ+ umbrella is ‘regressive and actually hostile to the goals of women and gay men’. Further, we argue that the petition by ‘Drop the T’ is little more than thinly veiled transphobia which puts forward a whole range of misconceptions that will actively perpetuate discrimination against trans people.

Trans people do not infringe upon the rights of women, gay men and children. Neither do they seek to ‘re-assert and codify’ what 'Drop the T' refers to as ‘classic gender constructs’. Indeed, by seeking to deny trans people access to safe spaces, and by seeking to deny support for trans children, teenagers and others, 'Drop the T' is actually doing more to reinforce conventional constructs of masculinity and femininity.

We urge you reject their petition and continue to work the rest of the LGBT+ umbrella to promote the wellbeing of all those within our community.

'Drop the T' does not speak in our name.