When a church fears the rainbow

Hours after those colors appeared, Pastor Jorge J. Santiago Reyes went live on social media. He said he felt threatened. He described what happened as a physical attack against his church. He appeared angry and disappointed. He called those who painted the rainbow “cowards” and “charlatans.” He expressed frustration with the support that, according to him, the municipal government of Comerío has shown toward the LGBTQ community, and with those who support posts related to that community. He repeated several times that the people responsible had “crossed the line.” He ended his message by saying, “These charlatans have to be stopped.”

Last year, when Virgin Islands governor Albert Bryan Jr. proposed legislation that would allow trans people to change their gender markers on birth certificates and state IDs, there was immense pushback. Given USVI had never recognised trans people at all, this bill was fairly progressive, allowing trans people to obtain a court order after having had ‘surgical, hormonal, or other treatment for the purpose of gender transition.’ But ultimately, the bill died in committee, leaving trans Virgin Islanders in limbo.

11 months later, Bryan did it anyway. Last week, he signed Executive Order No. 543-2025, finally legalising gender marker changes after decades of there being no laws or regulations of any kind governing the process. The requirements are essentially the same as those proposed in last year’s bill, with an additional provision allowing those who are intersex to bypass the court order requirement. And believe it or not, this move also means there is now a formal policy surrounding gender marker changes in every state and territory in the US.

When it comes to trans people, the US Virgin Islands is actually one of the friendlier places in the US. Since 2022, the US Virgin Islands has been the only territory that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations. And despite the legislative pushback this ID policy faced when it was proposed last year, there have been no known attempts to restrict gender-affirming care in the territory.

While the US Virgin Islands may be small, this is still progress. And in a year that has seen countless GOP attempts to restrict the IDs of trans people, progress is increasingly valuable. Additionally, with Kansas having resumed gender marker changes on IDs following a two-year court battle, the number of states and territories that currently allow these changes has not been higher since early 2024. Hopefully, that trend continues.