Since Donald Trump’s victory in the election, the LGBTQ+ community has spoken out about their fears, especially regarding the future of the trans community. There have been clues provided in President Trump’s Project 2025 policy that outline clues as to how the trans community may be impacted by his presidency.
In short, Trump’s Project 2025 outlines the removal of policies that protect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination, especially that of discrimination against gender identity and one’s sexual orientation.
For starters, Project 2025 advocates for limited Supreme Court protection when it comes to sexual orientation and transgender discrimination in the workplace. For instance the plan suggests the reversal of the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2020 of Bostock v. Clayton County, which specifically expanded LGBTQ+ protections in the workplace. The reversal of this case would ultimately allow discrimination, such as the hiring, firing, and employment of people based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
The policy plan of Project 2025 also asserts a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, as long as ending federal funds for gender affirming healthcare, both for minors and adults. This agenda claims that such treatments are harmful, and that the effects of gender affirming care are full of malice. Ultimately, there appears to be a plan of efforts to restrict overall national healthcare for transgender individuals. The plan seems to be the blockage of “gender affirming medical care for transgender people in federal healthcare programs, such as medicare”. These policies overall reverse the Biden administration’s policies that advocated for inclusive service and overarching ideas of universal healthcare and healthcare equality.
Beyond Project 2025, Trump opposed the proposed Equality act, which “would provide consistent and explicit anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federal funded programs, and jury service”. Currently, the US protects the natural right of anti-discrimination based on race, religion, sex, and disability, though there is no explicit protection against discrimination of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Equality Act was supported by a majority of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, and has been endorsed by over 650 organizations. There have been a total of over 60 businesses, 530 major companies, 650 organizations, 15.9 million people, and the collection of $7.8 trillion, all emphasizing the broad support for this bill. Where is it now? This act was “ reintroduced in the 118th Congress on June 21, 2023, in the House of Representatives”, though it is currently facing a lack of progress. However, this process is lengthy, and most recently, the bill has been “Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, House Administration, and Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned”. From here, the bill still must pass majority votes in the House, Senate, be approved by the President (or if vetoed, overruled by a ⅔ override), in order to finally become a law.
In summary, Trump’s second presidential term raises concerns for the LGBTQ+, and especially the transgender community, as we see policies begin to show the reversal of anti-discrimination laws, and overall equality and advocacy of healthcare and human rights.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/16/us/trump-cabinet-picks-voter-reactions.html
https://www.hrc.org/resources/equality
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house
bill/15#:~:text=This%20bill%20prohibits%20discrimination%20based,funded%20programs%2%20and%20other%20settings.
15 comments:
I'll never understand how people in government have the right to very obviously discriminate against a certain group of people or minorities through their policies. If Project 2025 was trying to limit the rights of LGBTQ+ members in "more discreet" ways, while still horrible, at least it's less clear that they are homophobic and trying to limit their rights. But when it comes to things like the reversal of Bostock v. Clayton County, banning transgender people from enlisting in the military, and opposing the "proposed Equality Act," it is very clear where Trump and his administration's values lie. Their goals are to very obviously take rights away from LGBTQ+ citizens simply because of the way they identify. I really hope to see pushback from the LGBTQ+ community as time goes on, either through peaceful protest and rallies, petitions, or other forms of peaceful disobedience, and I hope our nation supports this pushback in order to garner the rights they very much deserve.
It's extremely scary that Trump was voted President of the United States in light of his very vocal expression of hate against many minority groups who've faced discrimination. During Trumps Presidency, progressive policies and overall progressiveness may take a few steps back, however, how far will it go? Understanding that voters essentially rewarded his hate, how much more will they enable these viewpoints to foster and how far back will progression be pushed?
I hope that Trump is unsuccessful in his endeavors to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, but it seems that this country is going backwards. Trump is just undoing what Biden did, and the next President will have to undo what Trump did. The country is stagnant in where we stand on equal treatment of minority groups and it is saddening. If Trump is successful, I wonder how much protection LGBTQ+ people will receive under states, if at all possible. Especially with the removal of LGBTQ+ education in some states, there will be less and less sympathy for the LGBTQ+ community that struggles, and a new generation of politicians will continue this trend of removing anti-discriminatory policies towards LGBTQ+ people.
The potential rollback of LGBTQ+ protections outlined in Trump's Project 2025 is deeply concerning, particularly for the trans community. Policies that propose reversing workplace discrimination protections, banning transgender individuals from military service, and restricting access to gender-affirming healthcare not only undermine fundamental human rights but also create an environment of fear and uncertainty. The Equality Act, which could provide comprehensive anti-discrimination protections, represents a crucial step forward, yet its lack of progress highlights the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community in securing equality. It's unsettling to imagine a future where these protections are stripped away, and I truly hope that efforts to oppose such regressive policies are successful.
I know that Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 during the election, claiming he didn't know who was behind it, but regardless he has been pretty open about his feelings toward the LGBTQ+ community. His false claims that “Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” are extremely insensitive making many feel uncomfortable. I recently read an NBC article that revealed that some wedding venues, planners, photographers, are offering free services to same-sex couples before January 20th as many are rushing to get married before Inauguration Day. It is saddening to know so many people are fearing for their rights in light of the election. (https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/trump-gay-marriage-fertility-treatments-inauguration-rcna181715)
I am sad and disappointed that the efforts made previously to expand LGBTQ+ rights in the government are being pushed back so much by the Trump administration. America has never been a front-runner in protecting LGBTQ+ rights and freedom. With the former president potentially returning to office, this time with Project 2025, the rights and freedoms of the people are under serious threat. The potential removal of LGBTQ+ education further endangers the future of both the community and the country. I hope the upcoming presidency won’t result in disastrous outcomes that set back all the efforts to progress this country forward.
It is disheartening that much of the progress we as a nation have made towards protecting LGBTQ+ lives and rights risks a major reduction. As a proud Californian, I am happy that our propositions around removing discriminatory language around marriage have been amended to our state constitution; the fight continues in the states, to keep our integrity to protect the well-being of our LBGTQ+ citizens, if this is what is at risk at the federal scale. We have also been making progress though, in regards to representation in congress, apart from representing multiple sexualities, Sarah McBride, has been elected the first transgender woman in congress. There is hope.
The Conservative Party of Canada is for gay rights and gay marriage, and the same likely goes for many other more right-leaning parties. America is a very right-wing country overall and it's crazy that there is no common sense and common decency in this country. Why is 1% of the population (trans people) and 7% of Americans gay/bisexual/lesbian receiving 60-80% of the attention? America does not need to be unilaterally pro-gay and pro-transgender, but basic human decency (e.g. allowing individuals to mind their own business) seems to trend towards real small-government conservatism for me or maybe that's libertarianism, I always mess the terms up. Either way, basic human rights should be respected regardless of whether you agree with them or not. It's also interesting that Donald Trump in 2016 noted that he would let transgender people use the bathroom of their choosing... how far we have fallen.
Trump’s act of targeting the LGBTQ+ community feels like a deliberate act of cruelty aimed at undermining the rights that they have fought hard for in the past. By proposing to weaken or reverse Bostock v Clayton County, Trump is actively jeopardizing the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ communities – stripping them of their rights to be themselves. Furthermore, with the loss of LGBTQ+ education, the public may become uninformed and unempathetic, allowing prejudice, ignorance, and discrimination to grow. Trump is not just advocating for certain social policies, but he is also actively emboldening, and even normalizing hatred and discrimination.
Although Project 2025 targets LGBTQ+ members, I wonder if the 12 members of the 118th Congress who are openly LGBTQ+ will impact these decisions. Although I assume most if not all of the LGBTQ+ members of congress are liberal, I still think they leave an impact on other members of congress and set a standard for the country, one of greater acceptance. Project 2025 obviously wants to bring the country back in time, one before reproductive rights and before LGBTQ+ acceptance in our country. Although conservative media has decided to pay attention to, specifically, transgender teens and young adults, ultimately it disguises the hate and discomfort that those individuals hold around gender identity and expression. For the future of our country, I hope that discrimination towards any community will not be allowed to be built into law again.
I completely agree with what you are saying. I find it scary that people may become so uneducated and therefore ignorant, fearful and unempathetic toward members of the LGBTQ+ community. It feels scary that there are no constitutional protections against such discrimination and makes me wonder how this will be advocated for and hopefully protected in the future.
I find Trump's lack of concern for a sizable portion of the U.S. population to be concerning for not just LGBTQ+ individuals in this country, but for any minority populations in general. I also fear that Trump would not simply stop with banning transgender individuals from the military or rolling back protections. If he can get away with these actions, I fear that he might further choose to persecute transgender individuals and start going after more LGBTQ+ people in general and other minority groups. Trump and his administration's continued attempts at spreading hateful and harmful messages about transgender individuals is concerning. If he continues spreading these messages, he may build up a bigger support base for all the hateful policies he wants to implement.
I find it shocking how Trump was able to so blatantly claim he didn't support Project 2025 during the Presidential debate. Yet, 2025 has been something that's circulated the media for months as apart of Trump's plan for his 2nd term. Project 2025 has plans which are detrimental to the rights of women, people of color, and especially the LGBTQ+ community. Restricting people based on their race, gender, or sexual orientation has been something society and the government has been rallying against in recent years. The Constitution states all people are created equally, while that statement was meant for the rich property-owning man at the time it was written, in the 21st century this statement is meant to apply to all. I find Trumps involvement in Project 2025 to be disgusting and even worse that it has able to gain so much momentum. The queer community has experienced significant progress in terms of rights over the last century, yet Project 2025 sets to backtrack on all the work of those before us.
Like many things Trump says, I doubt his Project 2025 plan will ever bear fruit. A few months back, before election day, Trump outlined some of economic policies, but so far, the closest he's gotten on following up with his economic plan is having Elon Musk by his side. Trump said he would appoint Musk to be the head of a new government sector--"government efficiency"--which may actually turn out to become a thorn to those who oppose Trump's views. We're already seeing the relationship between Trump and Musk grow through the SpaceX launch a couple weeks ago, where the two convened and watched the spaceship fly into the stratosphere. There's definitely potential for this bond to become a threat to our democracy, but the other branches of government already limit the abuse of executive power--even in a Republican dominant Congress. In similar fashion, it's incredibly unpromising that this Project 2025 of his will ever fully make it through Congress and SCOTUS. Maybe our democracy will reawaken.
This is so sad and concerning for this country and raises many questions about the future of this country and what will happen with Project 2025. People in the LGBTQ+ community are not going to be safe with this new project 2025, they won’t be safe at work, or in the streets, not even in their own homes. The reversal of then Bostock v. Clayton County, which currently protects against work discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, if this were to happen this would be a major setback for the LGBTQ+ community. As a community, we need to be ready to push back on policies that Trump wants to impose and fight for equality, respect and inclusion. If Trump's term brings these harmful policies, this will undo all the hard work of these past years. The LGBTQ+ community deserves equal protection under the law and should have access to all the things that other people have.
Post a Comment