PETITION FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, EQUITY, AND NEW LEADERSHIP WITHIN BALTIMORE CITY’S OFFICE OF LGBTQ AFFAIRS

Baltimore’s Transgender Community Deserves Better

To Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore City Leadership, and the Residents of Baltimore:

We the transgender community and allies call for immediate accountability regarding the treatment of Baltimore’s transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming community during Baltimore Pride and Baltimore Trans Pride, and we call for new leadership within Baltimore City’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. Starting with the resignation of Dr.Melanie Bryant.

This petition is rooted in a deep concern for the safety, dignity, visibility, and well-being of transgender people in Baltimore.

At a time when transgender communities across the nation are facing unprecedented attacks on housing access, healthcare access, legal protections, and civil rights, Baltimore should be standing firmly with its transgender residents. Instead, many members of our community left Pride weekend feeling marginalized, excluded, and harmed.

Community members, organizers, performers, vendors, volunteers, and attendees witnessed and experienced a pattern of treatment that raised serious concerns about equity and accountability.

These concerns include:

• Placement of Baltimore Trans Pride in a less visible and less accessible location.

• Obstructed access to the event footprint.

• Delays and operational failures that negatively impacted the event.

• Lack of visible support and engagement from the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.

• Concerns regarding unequal treatment between Pride-related events.

• Reports of aggressive crowd-management actions by law enforcement, including the use of mace against attendees.

• Significant financial losses suffered by vendors, entertainers, DJs, security personnel, production teams, and small businesses that invested resources into the event.

• Actions and decisions that many community members believe undermined the success, visibility, and sustainability of Baltimore Trans Pride.

The impact of these events extends far beyond a single weekend.

Baltimore Safe Haven, the organization responsible for producing Baltimore Trans Pride, provides critical direct services to LGBTQ individuals experiencing housing instability, poverty, discrimination, violence, and crisis. The organization serves some of the most vulnerable members of our community during a time when transgender people face growing barriers nationwide.

When transgender-led organizations are hindered, entire communities suffer.

This petition is not simply about an event.

It is about whether transgender Baltimoreans are treated as equal members of this city.

It is about whether our voices matter.

It is about whether trans joy, trans leadership, and trans-led organizations are valued and supported.

We believe that community trust in the leadership of Baltimore City’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs has been significantly damaged.

Therefore, we respectfully call for:

A formal investigation into the treatment of Baltimore Trans Pride and its organizers.
A review of all event planning, placement, accessibility, safety, security, and operational decisions affecting Trans Pride.
An investigation into reports involving law enforcement interactions, crowd-management practices, and the use of mace against attendees.
A public community listening session involving transgender residents, organizers, performers, vendors, and stakeholders.
Full transparency regarding the role of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in planning, supporting, and overseeing Pride-related activities.
Immediate leadership changes within the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, including the resignation of Dr. Melanie Bryant as Director.
Baltimore cannot claim to support transgender people while allowing inequity, exclusion, and harm to go unaddressed.

We deserve leadership that is accountable.

We deserve leadership that is equitable.

We deserve leadership that builds unity rather than division.

Most importantly, we deserve leadership that actively stands with transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people—not only in words, but through action.

Sign this petition to demand accountability, equity, and justice for Baltimore’s transgender community.

#BaltimoreTransPride
#ProtectTransVoices
#TransRightsAreHumanRights
#AccountabilityForBaltimore
#BaltimoreDeservesBetter