LOS ANGELES – In a statement published today, the Free Speech Coalition commented on an internal Department of Health and Human Services memo obtained by the New York Times, in which the HHS asserts that government agencies need to adopt a definition of gender which is determined “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.”

“This week, we learned that the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has considered redefining the legal definition of sex and gender as something fixed at birth,” the FSC said in its statement, attributed to FSC Executive Director Eric Paul Leue. “This would effectively eliminate many current and future protections for transgender people, and it is more important than ever that we speak out. The adult industry has always valued the contributions of our trans and non-binary workers, producers, owners and colleagues. We are the platform, however imperfect, through which the straight cisgender community most commonly engages with individual trans people.”

In the statement, Leue also noted that from its “earliest days, the adult industry has encompassed people of all sexes, genders, sexualities and physicalities,” and drew a strong contrast between this disposition and the one embodied by institutional Washington.

“While those in the constrained confines of government offices, DC lobbying firms, and conservative churches may see sex and gender as constant and immutable, our own experience and community provides endless proof of the opposite,” Leue said in the statement.

The statement also represents a call to action, imploring members of the industry and fans alike to “stand with the trans community” and to “educate ourselves and those around us.”

“As an industry that draws strength from members both cis and trans, we want to let the larger transgender and non-binary community know that we see you,” Leue added. “We are standing by you. We are your partner in this fight and we will not let them erase you.”

The full statement is available on the FSC website here.