Trans rights groups rally in Loop after school bathroom protections overturned

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Transgender rights advocates and supporters rallied in Chicago's Loop Friday to protest the overturned school protections for transgender students across the nation.

A leader of the group Brave Space Alliance, which helped organize the rally, said they expected around 3,000 people to attend the gathering, located at Wacker and Wabash. Organizers said people from across the state of Illinois and even out of state were planning on attending.

The goal of the rally was to support transgender rights and raise awareness about the issues transgender people face throughout the United States. Organizers said they are upset about the high murder rate in their community. In Chicago, a 24-year-old transgender woman was killed in a shooting in Englewood on Feb. 22.

"We want to let people know that we're here, we're not going anywhere. We're angry, we're mad, we're fed up with not seeing ourselves, and we're moving forward," said LaSaia Wade of Brave Space Alliance.

Organizers said they chose to hold the rally outside Trump Tower because Donald Trump's name "has become synonymous with hate."