To the Editor:

Re “Trump May Limit How Government Defines One’s Sex” (front page, Oct. 22):

As a transgender person who works in the public health and social services fields, I know how damaging the proposed Trump administration regulations could be to our community. But I also know how damaging the very threat of these regulations already is.

When you belong to a community whose civil rights seem to depend on which party is in power, it is difficult to feel respected or safe. Under the Obama administration, after years of advocacy work, we were given a taste of equality. Now I feel destined to be a political pawn between liberals and conservatives, at a time when transgender people are being targeted with increasing levels of violence.

I am also a woman and an immigrant. At Gay Men’s Health Crisis, where I am managing director for policy and public affairs, I have seen how this administration’s vilification of vulnerable populations has hampered our response to H.I.V.-AIDS and other urgent public health issues.

This latest attack on the transgender community will hurt our response even more and create a precedent that could lead to further erosion of our community’s civil rights.