by Elliott Kozuch •
Washington -- The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, blasted President-Elect Donald Trump’s nomination of retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, an outspoken opponent of LGBTQ equality, to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Carson, whose ugly rhetoric includes equating marriage equality with bestiality, also opposes laws that protect LGBTQ Americans from discrimination and that ban the debunked practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” He has joked that same-sex couples might have their wedding cakes poisoned by anti-equality bakers, and asserted that being LGBTQ is a “choice.” He has also suggested that transgender people be required to use separate bathrooms.
“The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is charged with enforcing the U.S. fair housing laws that could prove challenging given that Ben Carson doesn’t even believe LGBTQ people exist,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Throughout his failed presidential campaign, Carson ran on a platform on inequality, and, if nominated, his hateful views could have disastrous effects on LGBTQ people. As a community already faced with housing insecurity, we need an ally, not an agitator, who will protect every American’s right to a safe place to lie down each night.”
Consistent research shows that LGBTQ youth are over-represented among the homeless, comprising up to 40 percent of the total unaccompanied homeless youth population, even though they make up five to 10 percent of the overall youth population.
HRC has compiled a database of the anti-LGBTQ statements made by Carson here. Since Donald Trump was elected to office on November 8, he has named several members of his administration and transition team -- and amongst his White House hires and cabinet picks are four individuals with particularly troubling anti-LGBTQ records: Steve Bannon, Representative Tom Price, Betsy DeVos and Senator Jeff Sessions. For more on their records, visit HRC’s blog.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community
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