Donald Trump And Mike Pence Could Undo LGBT Rights Progress, Gay Rights Groups Warn

What’s in it for America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community now that the country has just elected Donald Trump and Mike Pence? For many LGBT advocacy groups, the Trump-Pence administration represents a big step back after the outgoing Obama administration did so much to further gay rights in America.

A report from the New York Times on Friday stressed how LGBT rights groups across the United States are up in arms about Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential elections, and are concerned about the future of their rights. Some gay couples have expressed worry that they might not be able to get married under the new administration, and there have even been a few who are considering expediting their wedding plans, should Trump overturn gay marriage once he takes over as President. There have also been concerns about the military under Trump reinstating the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that effectively kept LGBT servicemen and servicewomen from coming out.

“This is a devastating loss for our community,” said Human Rights Campaign spokesman Jay Brown. “It is something a lot of folks are still trying to wrap their heads around.”

This is VP Elect #MikePence. He funds conversion therapy for #LGBT teens.
I endured it.
You should have stopped him.https://t.co/340c3bGzPz

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) November 10, 2016

The New York Times report also highlighted the dangers posed by vice president-elect Mike Pence as far as LGBT rights are concerned. When he served as governor of Indiana, Pence was a staunch opponent of gay marriage, and signed bills that allowed businesses to discriminate against LGBT customers if they offended their “religious freedom.” He had also voted against anti-discrimination laws for gay and transgender employees and voted against the abolishment of “don’t ask, don’t tell” when he served as a Republican congressman. Most notably, he had allegedly funded electroshock conversion therapy for gay teenagers, a technique used primarily in the 1960s and 1970s in hopes of making LGBT individuals straight.

Since the time Donald Trump announced his running mate to be Mike Pence, LGBT advocacy groups have reacted with shock and disbelief, considering his long track record of shutting down gay rights as a lawmaker.

“What we know about Mike Pence is that he led a direct, massive, and concerted effort in the state of Indiana to deny equality to LGBT people,” said National LGBTQ Task Force executive director Rea Carey. “It’s not like Trump didn’t know who he was.”

For all the controversial remarks he’s made about immigrants, Muslim Americans, and women, Trump hasn’t had a reputation as being outright anti-LGBT, the New York Times wrote. A native New Yorker who grew up in a liberal city, Trump has been known to accept gay employees within his Trump Organization, and he had also commented earlier in the year that transgender individuals can “use the bathroom they feel is appropriate,” a statement that didn’t go down well with more conservative Republicans.

Despite all that, Carey felt unimpressed, telling the New York Times that Trump’s public stand on LGBT people has been “confusing and conflicting.” He did, after all, tell Fox News early this year that he is mulling the possibility of appointing fiercely conservative Supreme Court judges who may repeal same-sex marriage in the U.S. On the other hand, Trump had made pro-LGBT statements, and even held a rainbow flag in certain stopovers during his presidential campaign.

https://twitter.com/AlexfromPhilly/status/796788489492762624

Trump’s “moderate” stance on LGBT rights may change when his administration formally kicks off, according to a separate report from Pink News. Aside from Mike Pence’s plan to remove LGBT protections originally set up by the Obama administration, Trump appears ready to sign the First Amendment Defense Act, which would enforce Pence’s known “religious freedom” rhetoric by allowing anti-LGBT discrimination on religious grounds.

With America coming to terms with the reality of a Donald Trump-Mike Pence administration, LGBT leaders have vowed to continue to fight for their rights and to ensure current policies protecting them are maintained.

“We are going to keep working to advance policy,” said National Center for Transgender Equality executive director Mara Keisling. “We’re going to fight like hell to keep existing policies, and we are going to win more than we are going to lose.”

[Featured Image by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images]