Although Donald Trump called himself a “supporter” of LGBTQ rights, his cabinet and senior staff will include some of the most anti-gay politicians in the country. One of the biggest decisions a president can make is the selection of a Supreme Court Justice. In January, Trump told Fox News he would “strongly consider” appointing Supreme Court justices who would overturn the 2015 decision allowing same-sex marriage.
Many people in the know say that his views on many issues are
all over the place, and he’s likely to follow the advice of the person he last
talked to. When you look at the cabinet members he is assembling you see they all want to roll back gay rights. They are the ones who will have Trumps ear and are likely to pursue their
agenda independently within their domains.
The Attorney General is the top law enforcement officer and
lawyer for the U.S. government. He or she is expected to protect Americans and
not have antagonism against certain groups – like the LGBTQ community, women
and people of color. So it is a concern that the Human Rights Campaign has given Jeff Sessions a “zero percent” voting
record on LGBT rights.
This record goes beyond voting for a failed constitutional ban
on same-sex marriage and against the repeal of “Don’t ask don’t tell,” as
Sessions did, and includes his opposition to expanding the definition of a hate
crime to include LGBTQ people. As head of the Justice Department, Sessions
could undermine hate crime protections and undo Obama’s directive to schools
not to discriminate against transgender students.
On LGBTQ rights, Ben
Carson is hostile, saying that sexual orientation is a choice, comparing
gay sex to bestiality, and opining that LGBTQs have more rights than Christians
in America. He’s the choice for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary.
He’s also opposed to non-discrimination laws of all kind, laws he would be
tasked with enforcing. As HUD Secretary he could rescind a 2012 rule
prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination in federally funded housing for low-income
people, as one example.
The billionaire Republican donor Betsy DeVos is not only anti-public school – we’re noticing a trend
of nominating those who are opposed to the mission of the cabinets they would
lead – she’s also an antigay activist. Her family has donated to anti-gay
groups, including groups that advocate for the widely discredited conversion
therapy to “cure” gays of their same-sex attraction.
LGBTQ kids have reason for concern, as Devos could remove the protection of favorable guidance in schools,
including the Department of Education’s letters that have taken a strong stand
against antigay and ant-trans policies in school districts.
As Trump’s top White House adviser not subject to Congressional
confirmation, Steve Bannon will definitely have
the President’s ear. He’s been getting deserved consternation for his views on
race and his alleged coddling of white supremacists. But as the chairman of
Breitbart News Network, he also signed off on antigay stories, with headlines
like, "Gay rights have made us dumber, It's time to get back in the closet".
Vice President-elect Mike Pence signed a controversial "Right to Discriminate" bill that
allowed business to refuse service to LGBTQ people. As a Congressman, he urged
lawmakers to “oppose any effort to put gay and lesbian relationships on an
equal legal status.”
“One thing we know is that Pence is deeply devoted to
undermining the human and civil rights of the LGBTQ community,” writes Emily
Hauser in the Week. Hauser says Americans should pay close
attention to what Pence does, as he’s already playing an outsized role in the
administration, almost a shadow President.
Many members of the transition policy team echo these same
feelings toward gays. This includes a Britbart editer who has worked for antigay groups and
has written about the “homosexual agenda.” Plus, the Trump transition team’s
domestic policy advisor, Ken Blackwell,
has said gays can be reformed, “just like arsonists.”
Will the beliefs and past actions of these officials, assuming
the ones up for confirmation are confirmed, matter to the day-to-day lives of
LGBTQ Americans? Are hard-won gains of recent years in danger of being rolled
back? Most definitely.
It’s become clear that as far as broad public opinion goes, the
equality train has left the station. A solid majority of Americans approve of gay rights. The Pew poll even
found that 51 percent think that a person should use the restroom that
corresponds to his or her gender identity. In North Carolina, Republican Gov.
Pat McCrory was defeated, likely for pushing House Bill 2, the infamous
“bathroom bill,” that brought an economic backlash to the state.
But the general public doesn’t make laws. And this election,
we’re told, turned on economic anxiety of the white working class. LGBTQ rights
were not well-explored in the general campaign, possibly because so many of the
gains under the Obama administration were considered “settled.” But let’s be
honest, nothing is ever settled.
There are many unknowns in the upcoming administration. LGBTQ
rights can be rolled back. Without close scrutiny and, if necessary,
public outcry, the civil rights gains of this community could recede like the
tide.
