The Oversight Project and the Heritage Foundation are urging the Federal Bureau of Investigation to categorize Transgender-Ideology-Inspired Violence and Extremism as Domestic Terrorism. The Over Sight Project petition site states the decision, “will allow our government to detect, disrupt and dismantle TIVE cells in the United States in order to mitigate against the ongoing domestic terrorism threat.” This movement is trying to push the idea that the country will be safer if these “transgender threats” are terminated. The organization’s true intent is to target and eliminate innocent people.

Being transgender does not equate to being a terrorist. Yet, conservative groups such as the Oversight Project and Heritage Foundation believe that not all, but many who are transgender or allies to trans people should be considered as a threat to the U.S., and are urging others to think the same way. Spreading the false idea of TIVE paints people who are transgender as problematic and violent. These organizations choose to further isolate the transgender community because they fear what they do not understand.

This isolation caused by the closed-minded can be harmful in the fact that lives could be lost due to the constant harassment and pointed fingers toward the transgender community. Just because some shooters are trans does not mean that there is an ongoing pattern with violence and transgenderism. A terrorist is defined as “or, relating to, or characteristic of terrorists or terrorism : practicing or involving violent acts of terror.”

The words of conservative groups have tainted the minds of too many in this country. It must be stopped. These groups need to be drained of their power and disproved of their propaganda with actual facts. The reality of the situation needs to come to light and remind the country that those who wave a pink, white and blue flag are not the cause of violence.