Trump on the LGBTQ Community
A series of statements and actions released by the Trump Administration has gained the attention of the LGBTQ community. The statement released by the White House on January 31, 2017, “President Donald J. Trump Will Continue to Enforce Executive Order Protecting the Rights of the LGBTQ Community in the Workplace,” Executive Order 13672, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump.
The order was signed under former President Obama on July 21, 2014. The order was put in place to prohibit “discrimination and take further steps to promote economy and efficiency in Federal Government procurement by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Although Executive Order 13672 is still intact, the Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump Administration has been taking steps to audit LGBTQ+ health initiatives intended to advance LGBTQ+ workers and patients. These steps include removing LGBT-friendly language from documents and assigning the senior adviser dedicated to LGBTQ+ health.
On March 23, 2018, the White House released a statement regarding the ban on “transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria — individuals whom the policies state may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery — are disqualified from military service except under certain limited circumstances.”
President Trump announced on Twitter in July 2017 that the military would “no longer accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity,” because the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” There is no medical evidence to back this claim; in fact, this statement undermines several rigorous scientific studies, peer-reviewed publications, the expert opinions of military leaders and officers, and the medical recommendations of our nation’s leading professional organizations.
In addition to these statements released by the Trump administration, there has been a recent conversation about Trump’s consideration of the definition of sex as “either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with.”
Although some may be wary of these potential changes instances, no definitive action has been taken or initiated by the Trump Administration to harm the LGBTQ+ community.
