FOR Tyra Lyn Sablan, who identifies as a heterosexual transgender woman, the CNMI still has laws that are barriers to LGBTQ+ community members who want to access opportunities to thrive and be healthy.
Sablan, 42, said health insurance companies have clauses in their policies that “discriminate against transgender men and women.”
She said there are also people in leadership roles in companies that allow their LGBTQ+ employees to be “trolled and bullied.”
Still, she added, “while the CNMI is not yet there as far as being an inclusive community which offers all people equal opportunities, the creation and passing of our ‘CNMI Equality Act’ will not only do wonders for our community but will be seen throughout the world and will positively impact our economy, our image and our well-being as a whole.”
Sablan is the executive director of T-Project, a “non-profit that works to better the lives of our LGBTQ+ community by connecting them to opportunities, resources, and to each other to help achieve our goal of a stronger, healthier, more loving and more resilient CNMI for this generation and the generations to come.”
Sablan said she is first and foremost a sister, a mother, a friend, an ally, a supporter, and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
“My passion is in the fellowship of my community. I love meeting new people and helping when and where I can,” she added.
Asked if she has a hero from the LGBTQ+ community that inspires her, Sablan said: Harvey Milk (1930-1978), the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.
“Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community also inspires me through the grace and resilience they continue to display despite the hardships they face daily,” Sablan said.
“But one person in history that stands out for me is Harvey Milk — he inspires me because he was revolutionary. He stood up for who he was, who he loved and for his community — even the members that went against him in the fight for equality. Eventually, he was assassinated but will forever be remembered as the father of equality in the LGBTQ+ community.”
According to Sablan, as an indigenous trans-woman from the Pacific, she is constantly faced with negativity, violence, hatred, discrimination from people in society.
In life, she said, we are always faced with obstacles.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you fall…what matters is, how you are able to raise yourself from that situation. I learned at such a young age how to be strong; and to protect my spirit and mind and most importantly my heart. You learn to live in this world, content to be by yourself because depending on other people will always disappoint you. So, I found refuge in my community and in that refuge, T-Project was born.”
June has been proclaimed as Pride Month, and this year’s theme is “Pride in Paradise — Rise Above, Lead with Love.”
Sablan said the LGBTQ+ community went through decades of hatred, violence, discrimination and humiliation, which continue to this day.
“But the resilience and the grace that the LGBTQ+ community, specifically the transgender community, [which] has proven time and time again to be the backbone of the LGBTQ+ community, is very inspiring and encompasses the theme, ‘Rise Above, Lead with Love,’ ” Sablan added.
“To the people who suffer in silence…we hear you…we love you…know that you are never alone. Be strong, be brave…never give up…one day, it will get better; all you have to do is keep on going!”
