Weaving together democratic theory and practice, this panel engages democratic self-defense from a queer and trans perspective. It recognizes attacks on the LGBTQ community as one symptom of a broader democratic crisis. We will address the connection between the status of LGBTQ rights and the health of our democratic institutions. Strategic division and fear mongering are classic tools to govern through fear and promote anti-democratic values. LGBTQ people are acutely impacted by the social regression of the democratic crisis, but our shared history uniquely equips us to fight it.