SOME 100 people rallied at Bournemouth Triangle today in a powerful show of support for the Transgender and non-binary community. 

Trans rights are human rights, according to the organisers of the event outside Flirt cafe this afternoon. 

Activists gathered draped in flags and brandishing placards saying 'Trans lives matters'.

Organiser, Melissa Armstrong was overjoyed at the turnout, she said: “I’m so pleased with everyone that came down and showed support.

“I think the people that are here today that are with us know about these issues. So, it's important that we speak about our allyship today and that we get our message across.

“With all the stories that we're hearing in the media now, demonizing trans people, we just really wanted to come out today and show our solidarity with the community, to show them that they have allies and people that will speak for them.

“We've got friends and partners and family who are trans nonbinary, and we see how scared they are. We see how unsafe they feel.

“Now is the time to be an ally.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Neal Errington, another member of the Trans community and a trustee at Bourne Free also attended, he said: It's been a really great turnout.

"Absolutely warm, free, wholehearted people support these events to echo every phrase that's been used.

“Trans rights are human rights.

“It's in our DNA for what we do at Pride.

“Long may these rallies continue.

“We're all in the same community, work together, we're a family at the end of the day.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Jay Murray from Bournemouth came out as trans when they were 32, saying: “I came out in 2007, so it was quite a different world back then.

“Everything was innocent, everything was new, everything was great.

“People were just getting to the point where they feel safe to come out because we had made such progress and now all of a sudden, the rug has been pulled out.”

Earlier in October, PM Rishi Sunak faced backlash for a speech perceived as giving the ‘green light’ for attacks on transgender people.

Dame Angela Eagle accused the Prime Minister of ‘gaslighting’ the country by claiming he was being ‘bullied’ over transgender rights.

During his leader’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Mr Sunak said: “We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can’t, a man is a man and a woman is a woman. That’s just common sense.”

At an event on the fringes of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Dame Angela attacked the Prime Minister’s comments as “farcical”.