Bandcamp is putting its money where its mouth in an effort to help support the transgender community in the wake of President Donald Trump’s proposed ban on trans individuals serving in the military.
The digital site, which allows users to find “amazing new music and directly support the artists who make it,” will donate 100 percent of its share of sales on Friday, August 4 (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time) to the Transgender Law Center.
“Bandcamp is a platform for artistic expression, and all manner of variance in experience and identity, including gender and sexuality, is welcome here,” reads a message that appears on the site’s webpage. “We support our LGBT+ users and staff, and we stand against any person or group that would see them further marginalized. This includes the current U.S. administration, and its recent capricious declaration that transgender troops will no longer be able to serve in the military. That this announcement was motivated in part to help fund the border wall exposes it as part of the administration’s cynical, discriminatory agenda.”
The company explained that the Transgender Law Center is a nonprofit that “works tirelessly to change law, policy, and culture for the more equitable” by doing “critical policy advocacy and litigation on multiple fronts, fights for healthcare for trans veterans, defends incarcerated trans people from abuse in prisons and detention centers, supports trans immigrants, and helps trans youth tell their stories and build communities.”
Bandcamp also offered a list featuring a selection of music made by transgender and gender nonconforming artists that is currently available on the site.
Trump’s proposed ban, which has yet to take effect due to a lack of any kind of guidance from The White House, has been vehemently opposed by politicians, military personnel, celebrities and the LGBTQ community and its allies.
56 retired U.S. generals and admirals came out against the policy on Tuesday. “The proposed ban would degrade readiness even more than the failed ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” the military officials wrote in a letter sent to The Palm Center, an independent research center. “Patriotic transgender Americans who are serving — and who want to serve — must not be dismissed, deprived of medically necessary health care, or forced to compromise their integrity or hide their identity.”
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