By Samm Sharp Posted February 22, 2019
President Trump (as well as his V.P. Mike Pence) have made it well known that they’re not exactly in favor of the gay/transgender community. Trump tweeted in June 2016, “Thank you to the LGBTQ community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.” Despite waving a pride flag around in Colorado for one of his campaign rallies, he was the first president to speak at an anti-LGBTQ hate group summit for the group Value Voters.
Trump was sworn into office on January 20, 2017. On the next day, all LGBTQ content was removed from the White House and Department of State websites (nbcnews.com). On February 22, 2017, the Departments of Education and Justice revoked Obama’s guidance on “equal access to facilities for transgender students.” ABC News stated that Trump’s administration reversed the ‘bathroom bill’ resolved by the Obama administration. Despite that, Trump still told Caitlyn Jenner that she “could use any bathroom she wanted if she visited the Trump Tower in New York.”
Trump’s policy on transgender individuals serving in the military was appealed to federal courts in December 2018. According to Samantha Allen from thedailybeast.com, transgender people can still serve, just as long as they’re not transitioning. “The DOJ (Department of Justice) could expect transgender people to serve in the military as their birth-assigned sex – and still claim they’re not banning them outright.” Seems like a contradiction, yeah?
On January 22, 2019, the Supreme Court decided to allow the transgender military ban to go into effect. “The government had asked the Justices to take the issue up even before the appeals courts could rule. Even though the Court denied that request, the fact that the Court is allowing the policy to go into effect suggests not only that it will eventually take the case on the merits, but also that five of the Justices believe the government is likely to prevail if and when that happens,” said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analysis, and professor of law at the University of Texas.
Despite Trump’s “efforts” to support the LGBTQ community, we can’t really say he’s on our side. Drew Goins from the Washington Post said Trump is an “administrative antagonist. He’s nominated anti-LGBTQ federal judges. His administration has sided with Masterpiece Cakeshop, the bakery that refused a gay couple looking for a wedding cake. He fired everyone on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, a disease that disproportionately affects LGBTQ people. The list goes on.”
Trump and his administration are deteriorating the progress made in the LGBTQ community. America has always been in favor of making minorities suffer and after nearly 250 years, the oppression is still real. Respectably less, but the point stands. But all for one and one for all, right?
