Donald Trump Has Attacked The LGBT Community At Least 124 Times, GLAAD Says
Following reports that the administration of President Donald Trump has directed the Supreme Court to rule that already-existing protections against gender discrimination in hiring do not protect individuals based on their sexual orientation, GLAAD has charged that the Trump administration’s latest action is at least the 124th action it has committed against the LGBTQ+ community.
The accusation came from the LGBTQ+ rights organization in a Tweet on Friday afternoon.
“This is the Trump Administration’s 124th attack on LGBTQ people since taking office and they join Roy Moore in opposition to workplace protections for LGBTQ people,” GLAAD tweeted.
Earlier this week, The Washington Post published an op-ed that claimed the president has a “devastating” record on protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. In just one cited example of his record, author Michelangelo Signorile writes that the president gave a speech in February in which he defended state funding given to adoption agencies that prevent gay couples from adopting children.
Last week, the Trump administration filed a similar brief to the one it filed on Friday with the Supreme Court, in which it petitioned the court to make it legal for employers to either not hire or fire transgender employees based on their gender identity.
Also this month, the Labor Department proposed eliminating an Obama-era policy that prohibited businesses that contract with the federal government from discriminating against LGBTQ+ individuals in their hiring practices, per The Washington Post.
Discrimination in the name of religion has no place in our country – let alone in the workplace.
Make no mistake: Trump’s proposal is taxpayer-funded discrimination that targets women, people of color, and the LGBT community. We can't let it stand. https://t.co/h7YPEn0Miy
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) August 14, 2019
In April, a controversial Trump administration policy that prohibits transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military went into effect, according to a report from NBC News. According to the report, the Trump administration policy rolled back an Obama-era one that allowed transgender individuals to openly serve in the U.S Military and provided them with access to gender-affirming care. The Trump-era policy enacted essentially evokes a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy similar to the one in place for gay, lesbian and bisexual servicemen and women in place from 1994 until 2011.
Earlier this month, The Log Cabin Republicans, a group whose makeup is described as gay republicans and their straight allies and claims to advocate for LGBT policies within the Republican Party, endorsed the president’s bid for reelection despite dealing to endorse the former reality television star in 2016, per The Washington Post.
Despite these actions, though, President Trump and his supporters have argued that he is not against the interests of the LGBTQ+ community. In a tweet in June, the President acknowledged gay Pride month and noted other countries with anti-LGBTQ+ policies. The president in that tweet claimed his administration was launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality worldwide.
