A few dozen people gathered in the sanctuary of First Unitarian Universalist Church in southeast Springfield on Sunday afternoon to listen to music and personal testimonies.

It wasn’t a church service, but a rally put on by the ACLU of Missouri to support the transgender community in Springfield.

“Bigotry is not love, no matter how you spin it,” said David Ketchum, who also goes by Katya, of Community Christian Church of Springfield, who encouraged people to stand up for LGBTQ rights.

“Love us right now without waiting, without excuse, without letting another week go by,” Ketchum said.

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The rally is part of a campaign called 10 Days of Trans Demands. It began in St. Louis on Oct. 1 and will end in St. Joseph on Oct. 11, coinciding with National Coming Out Day.

Organizers are promoting a Trans Ally Toolkit, an educational resource, available on the ACLU of Missouri’s website, which gives tips on how to support trans and gender-nonconforming people.

Jay-Marie Hill, transgender education and advocacy program coordinator for the ACLU of Missouri, said the purpose of having the rallies is to empower the trans community.

“In our community, that is targeted and only spoken about when something bad happens we want to take up space in the state of Missouri, a state where you can still be fired for being trans, gender nonconforming, gay (and) queer,” Hill said.

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Springfield is the third stop on the tour and featured musical and spoken word performances by local artists who identify as trans and non-gender binary.

Hunter McMahon shared a piece of personal news before his performance of “Dancing On My Own,” a song by Calum Scott.

“This Thursday, I’m starting my hormones,” said McMahon, who won the Voice of Greater Ozarks Pridefest and performs at Martha’s Vineyard in downtown Springfield. “It’s a wonderful step that is starting very soon.”

Ashley Quinn spoke about his journey navigating religion and spirituality as he came out as queer and later as a transgender man.

Quinn said he grew up Catholic in Springfield before spending a short period as a fundamentalist in college. He was rejected by the fundamentalist campus group when he was outed.

He was able to find accepting churches in Boulder, Colorado and Springfield, he said.

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Quinn also reflected upon Springfield’s short-lived ordinance that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. He said he remembers how some people spoke about transgender women during public hearings at City Hall.

“It was gross and it was disgusting and it was vile, the way that they spoke about my sisters in this community,” Quinn said.

The nondiscrimination ordinance was repealed by a narrow margin during a popular vote in 2015.

“Even though we lost that election that day, we really saw the power and the strength of this community,” he said.

Some say, “If you don’t like it here, then get out,” Quinn said.

“That’s not a solution, that’s not what we do. We stay and we fight and we make it a better place for everybody,” Quinn said.