Things could have been worse for the gay rights community under a Republican president. President Trump tried to court them during the campaign, and he seemed to go out of his way to avoid limiting their rights when he signed an executive order underscoring religious freedom.
That dynamic changed drastically Wednesday. Trump announced on Twitter an unequivocal ban on transgender people serving in the military, reversing a groundbreaking decision set in motion by the Obama administration.
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After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……
It’s a major attack by the president on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and advocates say it’s a big one. While the White House says the intent is to improve military readiness and is not based in politics, the message the LGBT community is hearing from the president is this: Transgender people are other, are different, are too costly to be treated like the rest of America.
The Trump administration had already revoked federal guidelines on transgender student rights in February. If anyone in the gay community still held out hope that Trump would live up to his pro-LGBT campaign rhetoric (and not-as-anti-LGBT presidency), Trump just eviscerated that.
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President Trump is most pro-LGBTQ rights @POTUS in history. Why’s that story not written in mainstream media? http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/31/white-house-tries-calm-fears-gay-rights-rollback/ …
“There is no gloss, no makeup, no lipstick on any of this,” said Bob Witeck, a Washington-based consultant to businesses and nonprofit organizations on LGBT issues. “This is a full-frontal attack.”
It’s also a politically potent one. Transgender policy is the tip of the spear in the gay rights battle.
North Carolina became a national battlefield in 2016 for limiting what public restrooms transgender people can use. Texas is in the process of trying to pass a similar law. Closing the door on transgender people is akin to closing the door on the entire LGBT community, Witeck said.
Trump’s action Wednesday is an about-face from his repeated and off-brand-for-Republicans attempts to reach out to the community during the campaign.
Washington Post by Amber Phillips, July 26, 2017
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The post Trump just eviscerated his claim to being an LGBT ally appeared first on Time For Families.
Source: Time for Families
