LGBTI+ associations: “Our lives did not fit, and will not fit, into your packages”

THIS MUST BE THE LAST TIME: ANTI-LGBTI+ PROVISIONS WERE REMOVED FROM THE DRAFT 12TH JUDICIAL PACKAGE

LGBTI+ people simply for being LGBTI+, and those defending LGBTI+ rights simply for defending fundamental rights and freedoms, were to be imprisoned; and trans people’s gender affirmation processes were to be banned or made nearly impossible under the guise of “regulation.” These legal provisions were removed from the 12th Judicial Package as a result of our struggle.

Just as we resisted in the 10th and 11th Judicial Packages, we resisted this time as well. We took to the streets in 32 places, 212 organizations issued a joint statement, 1,001 intellectuals supported it, and we came together with members of parliament, rights organizations, unions, bar associations, and professional organizations, everyone who stands for democracy and human rights. And once again, we won.

However, we are very tired. We are tired of the ruling political power’s anti-LGBTI+ legislative attempts. We are tired of these drafts being placed before us twice every year, and of constantly having to repeat that those they claim to “protect” are precisely us, and that the families they claim to protect are also ours.

But we did not give up. We are determined to continue resisting future packages, to fight back against every attempt that would further worsen our nonexistent rights, and to stop them.

We know, and we see, that you too, as the LGBTI+ rights–sensitive public and LGBTI+ community, are tired and exhausted by these political games. However, as we learned from earlier attempts to restrict abortion rights, the political power does not give up its oppressive and restrictive initiatives. From one package to another, it continues trying to package our dignity, our honor, and our lives. In doing so, it also continues to act as if laws have already been passed, creating de facto situations that control our lives.

We have stopped all three legislative attempts. However, the authorities continue to act as if the laws exist, bringing lawsuits and detaining visible LGBTI+ people and activists on flimsy grounds. Singer Mabel Matiz is being prosecuted on baseless grounds. LGBTI+ influencers are being detained on baseless grounds and are being subjected to cis-hetero-patriarchal discipline. May 17 Association Chair Defne Güzel was tried on baseless grounds and acquitted. Young LGBTI+ Association has been subjected to a closure order on baseless grounds. Access to hormone therapy has been restricted through age limits and algorithmic barriers. Street-based LGBTI+ rights claims have been met for years with police violence. LGBTI+ symbols have been effectively criminalized. Most recently, the social media accounts of LGBTI+ associations, Pride Week committees, feminist organizations, and women’s and human rights organizations have been blocked…

The list is long. But our history of resistance is even longer and deeper. We come from trans women’s hunger strikes on the steps of Gezi Park in the 1980s. We come from those who raised their voices for rights in the 1990s by organizing. We draw strength from LGBTI+ people in the most remote corners of the country who struggle simply to exist as themselves.

Our lives do not and will not fit into your “packages.” That is why we say: let this attempt be the last. Let this be the end.

However, from government statements to the media, we see that similar initiatives will return in the new legislative period. They say organizations may exist but should not “encourage” anything. They say trans people’s gender affirmation processes will only be “regulated.”

This is utterly false. The core of this narrative is the assumption that being LGBTI+ is bad or deviant. Being LGBTI+ is not something bad or deviant; it refers to sexual orientations and gender identities inherent to human existence. A person’s sexual and emotional attraction is not something that can be changed through “encouragement” or influence. Sexuality is a broad spectrum shaped by individual desire, and in consensual relationships, it is not possible to be intimate or emotional with someone one does not desire.

Being “trans” means having a gender identity different from the sex assigned at birth. It is not about role-playing or imitation; it is about how a person knows and experiences themselves.

Denying someone’s identity means denying their existence and agency. This is both discriminatory and contrary to human rights.

The fundamental issue is this: every person has the right to live according to the identity they define for themselves. For trans people, gender affirmation processes are not a luxury but a necessity. Being able to live feeling whole, and having bodily autonomy, is a right for trans people as it is for everyone else.

People do not acquire identity when they learn a concept; they name the feelings and experiences they already have. Learning the name of a feeling they could not previously name does not create that feeling, it makes it visible. This is a natural part of identity development.

There is no credible scientific evidence that sexual orientation or gender identity is formed through friends, social media, or “encouragement,” and there never has been. Similarly, it is clear that heterosexuality is not something that arises from external influence. Sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be changed or created through external pressure or suggestion.

Therefore, the issue is not “promotion” or “encouragement,” but the recognition and expression of one’s own emotional and identity experience. People do not learn their orientation from others; they discover it within themselves.

We, the LGBTI+ organizations that are told to “not encourage,” are working openly for a world where LGBTI+ people can live with dignity and honor. We have nothing to hide. We never have. We have no hidden agenda or “malicious” intent. We only have a dream of a free and equal world, and we are working to make it real.

We are fighting for constitutional equality that includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

We are fighting for legal protection against hate crimes and discrimination.

We are fighting for jobs, for bread, for livelihoods.

We are fighting against sexism, patriarchy, and racism. Not only for ourselves, but for the freedom of everyone in this country, for peace, democracy, and fundamental rights and freedoms.

And we are not alone in this struggle.

That is why we say once again: LGBTI+ truth has existed throughout history, rooted in humanity, culture, society, and nature. Stop waging war against truth. There is room for all of us under the rainbow.