The People’s Medic Protest Lorena Biassotti’s Transphobic Shirt at CCSD Trustee Board Meeting
- Leilah Ortega
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
By: Leilah Ortega
The People’s Medic protested before last Wednesday’s CCSD Board of School Trustees meeting and made public comment to oppose CCSD Trustee Lorena Biassotti wearing a transphobic shirt.
Biassotti wore the shirt during the previous board meeting on Aug. 13. Biassotti’s shirt read “XX-XY”, sold by Athletics, which brands itself as “protect[ing] women’s sports and spaces.” Athletics mission statement posted their website reads, “It is unfair and dangerous to allow males (XY) to compete in girls and women’s (XX) sports,” referring to transgender athletes.
Biassotti shared a photo on X standing next to CCSD Trustee Lydia Dominguez with the shirt stating, “Truth is not hate. Protect women’s sports from gender confusion.”
Prior to the meeting, The People’s Medic joined Indivisible Las Vegas and Handmaids of Las Vegas in a rally, across from a counter-protest defending Lorena Biassotti’s shirt. The People's Medic carried medic bags with them while Indivisible Las Vegas brought misters to mitigate the heat.
Inside the Meeting
The CCSD board added an item on the schedule to discuss Biassotti’s attire to the previous meeting to be formally discussed after she faces continuous backlash. Dominguez rejected the addition of the item, believing it to be irrelevant.
“I believe the item should not belong on the regular board meeting agenda,” Dominguez said. “It is a trustee item. This item has nothing to do with student achievement, [or] the strategic plan, and I think this should be moved to a work session.”
President of CCSD Board of School Trustees Emily Stevens opened the discussion before giving a quick note to the sitting crowd regarding decorum inside meetings. Stevens then continued.
“I’m not in any way telling a trustee what they can and cannot say,” Stevens said. “This item on our agenda is meant to be a reminder that we as a board decide that we would hold ourselves to a higher standard and be trustees that focus on governance, so we don't become a board that is a distraction from all the good work that our superintendent, her team, and frankly this board is doing to make this a destination district.”
Stevens later assured that the item was included to respect Biassotti and allow her to respond to public comments during the meeting.
Biassotti interjected, stating, “I do not feel respected for the record. I don’t feel respected.”
Biassotti defended her right to post on social media, denying she violated any rules. Stevens responded, citing two policies, one of which specifically prohibits trustees from posting remarks or comments on social media that could reasonably be interpreted as discriminatory, including diverse gender identities or expression.
Biassotti then gave her statement regarding the situation.
“I wore the XX-XY shirt because it reflects a sincerely held religious belief,” Biassotti said. “Members of this board may disagree with that belief. Disagreement, however, is not itself a violation of board policy. I have the right to express my views. I have the right to disagree. And I have a right as a woman, and as an elected representative, to advocate for boundaries I believe protect women and children without having that expression automatically characterized as bullying or harmful conduct.”
Biassotti continued her speech addressing Stevens directly.
“If, madame president, you intend to publicly reprimand me, identify the conduct, identify the provision, and show the evidence establishing that violation,” Biassotti said. “Because if the basis for punishment is ultimately that members of this board disagree with the message on my shirt, then we have moved beyond enforcing policy into a serious question of speech and religious expression.”
Biassotti also addressed calls to remove her from the board.
“Removing an elected trustee from a committee does not affect only me,” Biassotti said. “It affects the constituents who elected me, 72,000 of them approximately, to represent them in the work that I do on this board. The liberals of this board should not be able to diminish that representation simply because it disagrees with the religious beliefs of the person who voters elected, which is me.”
With Biassotti’s response, the board took a recess, advised by CCSD’s legal counsel, before opening up public comment to the audience.
TPM Makes Public Comment
Jasmine Lazaro and Tomi Love both took to the microphone to make public comment for the record.
Lazaro went first, citing her credentials as a licensed family nurse practitioner in Nevada and Vice President of the People’s Medic.
“Nothing I am about to say asks anyone in this room to change what they believe,” Lazaro said. “Nevada law already protects that. NRS 388. 132 says every person in a school may hold their own beliefs and respectfully disagree. The same statute says students of every gender identity or expression must be able to realize their full academic and personal potential. Both are already the law here. I take medical histories from adolescence for a living. Chronic rejection is not a feeling. It is a physiological load. It presents as insomnia, headaches, stomach pain, missed school days, and failing grades.”
Lazaro continued her comment, highlighting how transgender and non-binary youths suffer the most.
“Transgender and non-binary adolescents carry those burdens at higher rates than their peers,” Lazaro said. “And what the evidence points to is not their identity. It is the hostility they absorb from the environment around them…Hate has no place in education”
Love followed Lazaro’s public comment, stating her 16 years of experience in healthcare, two years as a registered nurse, degree in science, and her role as President of the People’s Medic.
“I came here tonight to raise awareness about something being pushed in a district that is not close to correct,” Love said. “A public education system should not be represented by a claim that would not pass a freshman biology course, and no seat on this table should be used in a way that harms or dehumanizes our students.”
Love continued her speech, detailing how “chromosomes do not decide sex by themselves.” She then turned her speech towards Biassotti.
“What one of your board members claims is uneducated, and it really lacks evidence,” Love said. “It’s harmful, and it’s dehumanizing, and it is the one thing that this board has been entrusted to prevent. Saying there is only two genders is simply false. And it sounds like a district that has not read its own research.”
Biassotti Doubles Down
Shortly after Lazaro and Love spoke, Trustees Biassotti and Dominguez left their board seats to take to the mic and make their own public comments.
Biassotti went first, saying she feels targeted for her beliefs.
“I’ve been the target of certain trustees who attempt to villainize my beliefs, my Christian beliefs,” Biassotti said. “There has been a constant effort to persuade this board to take action against the conservative members of this body. I reject the effort to turn political disagreement into official action against me.”
Biassotti also went after the board, claiming they are trying to control her.
“If you are offended by what I post in my personal time, I am more offended by the notion that this board believes it can control my private speech,” Biassotti said. “I am not your employee. I am not appointed by you, and I will not surrender my constitutional rights to satisfy political disagreements. The board is not above the Constitution.”
Biassotti then accused the board of suppressing her free speech, announcing she is planning to file a lawsuit against the CCSD Board of Trustees for free speech violations.
“I am announcing today that on behalf of myself, Lorena Biassotti, CCSD Trustee representing District E, and on behalf of Lydia Dominguez, CCSD Trustee representing District B, we are planning on filing a lawsuit against the CCSD Board of Trustees for what we believe are clear violations of our First Amendment rights,” Biassotti said.
Dominguez followed immediately after and defended Biassotti.
“When Trustee Biassotti wore that shirt, when she posted it on social media, that was not violating anyone’s freedom of speech; that was within the NRS, within our own policy, and apparently people aren’t reading this,” Dominguez said.
Community Resources
With trans and LGBTQ+ youth being targeted daily in their own communities, we would like to remind everyone that The People's Medic stands against this hate and is an ally to all marginalized communities. We would like to highlight these community resources and activists who are paving the way for LGBTQ+ civil rights locally and nationally.
The Nevada chapter of AFSP serves to prevent loss of life from suicide by delivering innovative prevention programs, educating the public about risk factors and warning signs, raising funds for suicide research and programs, and reaching out to those individuals who have lost someone to suicide.
Silver State Equality brings the voices of LGBTQ+ people and allies to institutions of power in Nevada and across the United States by fighting to pass pro-equality legislation, electing pro-equality leaders, fighting for civil rights in the courtroom, and reducing disparities in LGBTQ+ health and well-being.
Dani Eicher volunteers with the AFSP, as well as other LGBTQ+ organizations, and was present during the protest, bringing compassion, empathy, and understanding to the counter-protest despite having different viewpoints. The People's Medic is proud to highlight Dani and her continued efforts to support local LGBTQ+ communities.
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