Monica Helms, the US Navy veteran who created the transgender pride flag in 1999, has announced she and her wife are leaving the United States due to the escalating wave of anti-trans laws.
Helms, 73, revealed the move via a GoFundMe campaign, explaining that the couple plans to relocate to Costa Rica.
“To live in a country that is safer than the US is today,” she wrote.
“We will not abandon our activism in Costa Rica. If others want to move there, we will help any way we can.”
At the time of writing, the fundraiser had reached $10,077 of its $12,000 goal.
A Climate of Fear
Helms and her wife currently live in Georgia, but she told the Bay Area Reporter in June that the political climate feels increasingly unsafe.
“We don’t want a place where there’s going to be danger like that. Even blue states are starting to see problems, especially with what’s happening in Los Angeles, and this concerns us a lot. We are a bit afraid.”
Her concern references former president Donald Trump’s executive order banning gender-affirming care for people under 19, which forced the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles to close its trans youth program.
According to Trans Legislation Tracker, 2025 has already seen 981 anti-trans bills introduced across 49 states. Of those, 121 have passed, 216 remain active, and 644 have failed. These measures attempt to restrict healthcare, education, legal recognition, and the right for trans people to exist in public spaces.
The Flag That Became a Movement
Helms first unveiled the transgender pride flag at a Phoenix LGBT pride event in 1999. She explained its meaning:
“The stripes at the top and bottom are light blue, the traditional colour for baby boys. The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional colour for baby girls. The stripe in the middle is white, for those who are intersex, transitioning, or consider themselves having a neutral or undefined gender.
The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it is always correct, signifying us finding correctness in our lives.”
In 2014, Helms donated the original flag to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History as part of its LGBT collection. At the time, she told Smithsonian Magazine:
“Trans history in most museums was non-existent. We have been marginalised. People don’t realise that we’ve existed. We’ve existed all along.”
Activism Beyond Borders
Though Helms may soon leave the US, she has made clear that her activism will continue in Costa Rica. For her, the move is less about retreat and more about survival — and ensuring trans people, in America and beyond, feel seen and supported.
