This article was published on October 6th, 2020
With Election Day mere weeks away, the LGBTQ+ community is in serious jeopardy of losing some of their hard-earned rights depending on the outcome
From the first week that the Trump administration took over the White House, the LGBTQ+ community has been adversely affected, and now nearly four years later it continues to ramp up and chip away at rights. The writing was on the wall nearly immediately when the queer community was removed from the official website of the office, a telling sign of more to come.
There have been more tactics introduced that are clearly meant to subjugate as well, including rejecting plans to add questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to the 2020 census. Next, Trump’s administration banned transgendered people from serving in the military. And on a day that should have united Americans – the anniversary of the Pulse night club mass shooting – he announced rolling back the health care protections for trans people, an initiative implemented under the Obama administration. Trump has also prohibited embassies across the world from flying the rainbow flag, and refused to acknowledge Pride Month each June for the past three years.
Hopefully, the LGBTQ+ community en masse has been paying attention.
The Trump Administration Is Going for the Jugular
Refusing to ease back on infringing on the rights of queer people, Trump’s Department of Justice filed briefs with the supreme Court to endorse firing LGBTQ+ workers simply for being. Luckily, the Supreme Court ruled against this attempt, but with the Court expected to turn firmly conservative with the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, there is no question that another attempt will be made in the coming months when her replacement is put into place. The recent announcement as Judge Amy Coney Barrett to take over Ginsburg’s seat has already been met with outrage by those on the left.
In case anyone had forgotten, this August, Trump doubled down on his 2016 platform that condemned any type of marriage outside what he considered ‘traditional marriage’ despite gay marriage being fully legal for years. Adding further insult to injury recently was the president issuing a list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court that is filled with individuals that are vehemently opposed to civil rights and LGBTQ+ rights. The list was so incendiary that it was called out by the legal director of Lambda Legal. One of the potential replacements, Allison Jones Rushing, has been linked to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which believes homosexuality is a criminal act. Fittingly, the organization has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Donald Trump Lives in a Bubble of Delusion
Touting himself as the most progressive and pro-LGBTQ+ president in history, Trump regularly claims to have done more for the community in a few years than Joe Biden has done in more than four decades in D.C. Everyone knows this is a blatant lie, but with a whopping 30,000 lies (and counting) under his belt, the Trump train may eventually derail, but maybe not as soon as many in the community hope it will.
For those that believe equality for the LGBTQ+ community is here to stay and that their families and relationships are safe, the Trump presidency has shown clearly and quite quickly that those freedoms that are currently enjoyed can be stripped away until there are nonexistent.
It is happening before our very eyes.
What the LGBTQ+ Community Can Do Now
It is not too late for the queer community to rally and fight back against the systematic oppression currently underway by the Trump administration. One way is to register to vote and do so now. According to reports, one in five queer adults are not registered and if change is to be had, it is imperative to register and go to the polls and protect rights. The Supreme Court will be making huge decisions on LGBTQ+ protections in the coming months and come November, we all will have to deal with the hand dealt and then act accordingly.
