Possible Trump Action Specifically Targeting LGBTQ People

by HRC Staff

There are a number of rumors swirling that Donald Trump is planning to sign yet another discriminatory executive action – this time specifically targeting the LGBTQ community.

There are a number of rumors swirling that Donald Trump is planning to sign yet another discriminatory executive action – this time specifically targeting the LGBTQ community. While only the White House can speak to the veracity of the rumors, given the administration's track record of championing discrimination in just the last week, HRC is preparing to fight this to the fullest.

“The rumors of an anti-LGBTQ executive action by President Trump are deeply troubling. We already know that he is willing to target and marginalize at-risk communities for his perceived political gain. As the President and his team plan their next steps, we want to make one thing clear: we won't give one inch when it comes to defending equality, whether it is a full-on frontal assault or an attack under the guise of religion. Mike Pence should know that better than anyone given his track record in Indiana," said JoDee Winterhof, the Human Rights Campaign's Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. “The Human Rights Campaign will stand with those who have already been targeted by this Administration and are prepared to fight tooth and nail against every effort to discriminate.”

Nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ people have reported experiencing discrimination, according to HRC polling.

Then-Governor Mike Pence’s support for a bill in Indiana that was intended to allow businesses to discriminate and deny service to LGBTQ people did massive damage not just to the state’s economy, but his own political standing as well. A survey released in the wake of the disaster showed that the law cost the state as much as $60 million in convention revenue from lost business. The survey from “Visit Indy” found that  “12 out-of-state groups were surveyed and all said that the state’s controversial religious objections law played a role in their decision to hold their events elsewhere.” HRC’s poll conducted after the debate found a stunning 75 percent of Hoosiers thought the fight was bad for the state’s economy. The same kind of political fallout torpedoed Pat McCrory’s re-election campaign after he pushed a dangerous and discriminatory anti-LGBTQ bill in North Carolina last year.

Bloomberg reported late Friday that a range of options are under consideration for an executive order that could target LGBTQ people with discrimination, including allowing contractors to discriminate in hiring, allowing taxpayer-funded workers to refuse to serve LGBTQ people or allowing Indiana-style discrimination where contractors could refuse service to LGBTQ people.

Such a move by the Trump administration would also fly in the face of public opinion. The overwhelming majority of Americans support protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination.

Unfortunately, since Congress has not passed the Equality Act, LGBTQ workers in a majority of states today live in fear of being fired or denied a job because of who they are or whom they love.

During the campaign, Donald Trump vowed to reverse nationwide marriage equality, supported North Carolina’s dangerous and vile HB2, and said he would sign the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which would enable Kim Davis-style discrimination.