Trump Lies to the L.G.B.T. Community

During his campaign, Mr. Trump promised to be a better "friend of women and the L.G.B.T. community" than Hillary Clinton. Now, as president, gay rights advocates are accusing him of betraying his promise.

Trump has been trying to roll back our rights from the beginning of his presidency. He has attempted to meet the demands of his conservative constituants who want to stop protecting gay people from discrimination.

In one day this month, 3 separate actions showed us that the Trump administration will use the powers of the federal government to roll back civil rights for gay and transgender people. 

Without being asked, the Justice Department intervened in a private employment lawsuit, arguing that the ban on sex discrimination in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect workers on the basis of their sexual orientation. The friend-of-the-court brief, filed at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, was a striking shift in tone from the Obama administration, which had shied away from that question.

At the beginning of this day there was a tweet from President Trump announcing a ban on transgender people serving in the military. This surprised Pentagon leaders and reversed a year-old Obama administration policy.

Also on the same day, Mr. Trump announced that he would nominate Sam Brownback, the governor of Kansas and a vocal opponent of gay rights, to be the nation's ambassador at large for international religious freedom.

The constellation of events raised alarm among gay rights advocacy groups, which portrayed the moves as a concerted effort to limit advancements in gay rights.

"Yesterday was this administration's anti-L.G.B.T. day," James D. Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's lesbian Gay Bixesual Transgender and HIV Project, said. "Whether coordinated or not, to have it all happen on the same day certainly brings into focus the profoundly anti-L.G.B.T. agenda of the administration.

Taken together, the administration's actions are a prize for religious conservatives who backed Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign but were far more enamored of his vice-presential pick, Mike Pence.

Anthony D. Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the ban and other moves were "the most cynical of dog-whistle politics" and an effort to "rile up the president's base as this administration flounders on health care reform and the Russia investigation, and as its popularity ratings plummet."

"Yesterday, he (Trump) went after everyone with a direct assault. He truly declared war on our community," said Chad Griffin, the president of Human Rights Campaign. "I promise you, this is a battle we are going to win."

Trump's Administration's Rollback of Civil Rights for Gays and Transgenders

The Trump administration signaled through three separate actions that it would use the powers of the federal government to roll back civil rights for gay and transgender people.

Without being asked, the Justice Department intervened in a private employment lawsuit, arguing that the ban on sex discrimination in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect workers on the basis of their sexual orientation. The friend-of-the-court brief, filed at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, was a striking shift in tone from the Obama administration, which had shied away from that question.

Earlier that day President Trump tweeted and announcement banning transgender people serving in the military, surprising Pentagon leaders and reversing a year-old Obama administration policy.

The same day Mr. Trump announced that he would nominate Sam Brownback, the governor of Kansas and a vocal opponent of gay rights, to be the nation’s ambassador at large for international religious freedom.

The constellation of events raised alarm among gay rights advocacy groups, which portrayed the moves as a concerted effort to limit advancements in gay rights.

James D. Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Project responded by saying, “Yesterday was this administration’s anti-L.G.B.T. day.” “Whether coordinated or not, to have it all happen on the same day certainly brings into focus the profoundly anti-L.G.B.T. agenda of this administration.”

Administration officials insisted that the timing of the three actions was coincidental. Wednesday just happened to be the deadline for the Justice Department to submit briefs in the employment discrimination case and Mr. Trump’s tweets about transgender troops, unexpectedly skipped past lawmaker’s ad the military brass that were considering the issue.

Whether by accident or intent, the result was a striking reversal from Mr. Trump’s predecessor, who repeatedly used administrative actions and legal arguments to press  for protections for gays and lesbians.

Taken together, the administration’s actions are a prize for religious conservatives who backed Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign but were far more enamored of his vice-presidential pick, Mike Pence.

Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, a group that advocates socially conservative and Christian causes, applauded Mr. Trump’s decision to bar transgender people from the military. He said in a statement, the president should be praised for “rescuing our troops from the grip of the Obama years and restoring a sense of true pride to a military devastated by two terms of social engineering.

Anti-Trump Resistance Marches

The theme of gay pride parades around the country are dramatically shifting from celebrating gender and sexuality choices to a militant call to resist what organizers regard as oppressive societal and government forces. Parades will no longer be parades; they are "resistance marches." With Trump as President, the country, especially the LGBT community is in grave danger. It's as if a terrorist, not a patriot, has moved into the White House.

After witnessing the large crowds of protesters drawn to the pro-abortion Women's March on Washington, D.C., last January, one day after Trump's inauguration, Los Angeles entrepreneur Brian Pendleton had an idea. He wrote, "Floats and marching bands are nice when we are not at war. Now is the time we shake things up and take to the streets. The idea has caught on in many other locals. Planned 'Resist Marches' join several streams of protest and dissatisfaction coalescing under a single banner of "Equality March for Unity and Pride. This has become an international effort. The shift seems not be about feelings, not facts.  

There is a high level of fear in what is happening in our country, and even though we still have the right to marry and all the rights we had won before Trump took office, having our human rights stripped from us and going backward creates an underlying terror. That is where the sense of militant dissatisfaction with typical gay pride festivities is rising. 

There seems to be a need to return to the gay movement's counter-cultural roots. The majority of LGBT pride parades around the world were born out of protest. At this time there is a heightened threat level that is being actively promoted. Is this being promoted to bring as many people as possible into having a sense of personal threat to their well-being. I believe the threats are valid and too close to factual than is comfortable!

So what is the undefined threat? Who is the amorphous enemy? The ResistMarch.org Facebook page declares, "When any american's rights are under threat, all our rights are threatened. We are LGBTQ+. We are people of color. We are people of different faits. We are people of all genders and no gender. We are immigrants. We are dreamers. We are people with disabilities. We are parents. We are allies. And we are beautiful intersections of these. But most of all, we are American. Yet our rights are in jeopardy. Forces are gathering in government that intend to take away our hard-won basic human rights."

So, what do we resist? Who or what exactly threatens us? Many of us participate in pride events because of the alarms that are sounding and make impassioned pleas of resistance. But some who normally participate in these events are unclear on what they are being asked to do. They are even skeptical about the pride parades' co-opting by militant gay and transgender forces. 

The focused target is the Trump administration and resist marches across the country have focused on that. But is feels like the hate being directed toward everyone who isn't white, Christian, Republican, and heterosexual runs deeper and is older than Trumps chaotic administration. The anger this country has runs deeper than the threat of government, racial, and religious tyranny. It is thinly veiled in rage against each of those but many of us feel the hatred that is coming from a dark and buried place that most of us sense but do not remember how many generations if has been lingering or exactly what it is. Perhaps watching this anger and those fearful folks who voted for Trump and who are beginning to act the anger out will be the best way to bring into consciousness the true hatred that is at the roots of our American imbalance. Only then will we be truly confidant what to resist and what the real threat is.

LGBT Fear Under The New Administration

The election of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence has set off panic in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities across the country, as people worry that their divisive campaign promises would come true.

Many questions have flooded the offices of LGBT advocacy groups nationwide. Will the President change the health system so that transgender people are not protected from discrimination? Will he appoint conservative judges to the US Supreme Court who could roll back marriage equality and other civil rights? Will Vice Present Pence’s long-ago support for so-called “conversion therapy” translate to a directive for LGBT youth?

Trump, Pence and the Republican Party’s anti-LGBT platform are a threat to the progress made during the Obama administration’s legacy. People in the community are scared. There is fear of an atmosphere of intolerance that was pre-viewed in Trump’s campaign.

The concerns that are most commonly heard by people in the LGBT community have to do with same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, bathroom bills, talk of conversion therapy for LGBT youth and whether or not we will be able to serve openly in the military.

Many same-sex couples are worried that their marriages could be invalidated in Trump’s America. Neither the President nor Congress can take away what the Supreme Court has deemed a “fundamental right,” leaving current marriages safe. While Trump does not have the right to unilaterally scrap marriage equality, he has the power to appoint Supreme Court justices who could. It would take a long time for the court to repeal marriage equality, and by then society will potentially change to a more supportive attitude.

In regard to same-sex adoption, gay and lesbian parents are worried that their parental rights could be in jeopardy, especially for the non-biological parent. Experts say that even though that person’s name is on the birth certificate it is best to adopt the child. States set adoption and parental rights policies, so that adoption ensures both parents have a legal tie, which could help in challenges to parental rights at the federal level.

North Carolina’s controversial HB 2, bathroom bill, has set the precedent for proposals to regulate bathroom access for transgender people across the country. HB 2 was redefined and passed this week and even though some of the things the transgender communities wanted were named, protection was not addressed and remains ambiguous. In 2016 there was an upswing in anti-trans legislation and it is anticipated that will continue to increase in 2017. Advocacy groups have been training across the country for more legislative battles.

Transgender students are at particular risk. The Obama administration’s recommendation to schools to treat transgender students in accordance with their gender identity was popular with advocacy groups and was criticized by conservatives. President Trump has said that transgender people should be protected under the law but rejected the use of federal law to do so, saying it should be left to the states.

Even though Obamacare is secure for the moment we are aware that President Trump will try again to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Of the 20 million Americans covered, about 5% are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The Affordable Care Act has a non-discrimination provision that includes gender identity and sexual orientation. It is especially meaningful for transgender people, who often face discrimination when they try to access gender-affirming health care. It remains to be seen how President Trump would take away the protections in Obamacare when his own health plan is brought up for a vote again.

At no point during the presidential campaign did Vice President talk about supporting conversion therapy, a widely discredited practice that claims to undo homosexuality. Pence’s record in his own state would indicate that he promotes conversion therapy. Because the practice has been widely rejected by mental health professionals and outlawed in some states, it’s hard to imagine that it could ever gain credibility or become law, even with the support of an elected official.

Another concern is about serving in the military. It is exceedingly unlikely that Pence’s opposition to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will reverse the decision to let gays and lesbians serve openly in the military. Transgender service began this year, too, signed off on by the chairs of each military branch. It is thought that regulations are not easy to undo and the military leadership of our country feels good about it and all of those people have skills and expertise that our military needs.

There has been surprising numbers of people who are overcoming their complicity and are getting involved at all levels of government to make their concerns be heard. If anything is going to affect our future we need to continue contacting our constituents to maintain protection for our community.

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