What Are Trumps Views On The Lgbtq Community And Gay Marriage
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DONALD Trump has shifted his focus to LGBTQ voters in a push to earn their support for a second stint in the White House.
The president’s LGBTQ supporters say that the Trump administration has made gay rights a “non-issue,” citing his friendships with gay men and his appointment of at least two openly gay federal judges
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Arguing That Its Legal To Fire Workers For Being Gay
The Justice Department made an unexpected move last July when it stepped into in a major federal lawsuit to argue the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesnt protect gay workers from discrimination. The Trump administrations filing was unusual in part because the Justice Department wasnt a party in the case, and the department doesnt typically weigh in on private employment lawsuits. Further, the Justice Department was fighting against a separate, autonomous federal agency that had supported a gay man’s case. The court ruled in favor of LGBT rights, but the Trump administration hasnt reversed its stance that its legal under federal law to fire employees for being gay.
Trying To Kick Transgender People Out Of The Military
In July 2017, Trump announced he would ban transgender people from serving in the military in any capacity, thereby reversing a policy created under the Obama administration. He claimed he had consulted ” generals” and determined that transgender people would harm troop readiness. But his top general wasnt consulted, and federal courts found no evidence to support the presidents claims. One judge called the presidents claims “capricious, arbitrary, and unqualified,” and added they were shocking. Four courts blocked his ban, but the Justice Department is still fighting to enact it and the Pentagon has issued recommendations on how to fully implement the policy.
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Donald Trump Fine With Same
LAW OF THE LAND
In an apparent attempt to assuage the fears of LGBT Americans, President-elect Donald Trump told Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes that he has no plans to roll back same-sex marriage rights. Asked by Stahl if he personally supports marriage equality, Trump replied, Its irrelevant because it was already settled. Its law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean its done. He went to clarify that even if he were to appoint a judge who opposes marriage equality, the issue has been settled and hes fine with that.
As for the fears that other groups, such as blacks and Muslim Americans, have expressed since his election, Trump told Stahl, I think its horrible if thats happening. But in the next breath, he dismissed stories of intimidation as little more than a media invention. I think its built up by the press because, frankly, theyll take every single little incident that they can find in this country, which couldve been there before, he said. If I werent even around doing this, and theyll make into an event because thats the way the press is.
Declining To Appoint An Lgbt Liaison For The White House
Trump doesnt have an LGBT liaison at the White House, a position that previously served under president Barack Obama as a conduit between the executive branch and organizations and individuals when decisions were made on LGBT policies. The last White House LGBT liaison under Obama had said she was afraid this would happen.
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Platform Does Not Mention Anything President Has Done In First Term
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The Republican National Committee has voted for the party to keep its 2016 platform unchanged for Novembers presidential election, despite it calling for a ban on same-sex marriage and transgender military personnel.
On Wednesday, the partys executive panel voted for the GOP to keep the same platform as 2016, for the 2020 presidential election.
They voted to repeat the platform, because the coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible for the thousands of national delegates to meet up and vote on changes, according to LGBTQ Nation.
The 2020 platform will continue to oppose same-sex marriage and transgender military personnel, and will support LGBT+ conversion therapy and the rights of businesses to discriminate against same-sex couples, according to the outlet.
References to the Obama administration are also included in the platform, which does not mention anything the Trump administration has done in the last four years.
Does Trump Support Gay Marriage
Before he was elected president, Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper in 2015 that he is “just for traditional marriage.”
But after being elected president in November 2016, he said in an interview that he considers the nationwide legality of same-sex marriage “settled.”
Trump also said he was “fine” with the Supreme Court’s decision to legally recognize gay marriage.
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Trump And Barrett’s Threat To Abortion And Lgbtq Rights Is Simply Un
Republicans wont tell Americans to wear masks to beat Covid, but will say what women and gay people can and cannot do
Trump and many Republicans insist that whether to wear a mask or to go to work during a pandemic should be personal choices. Yet what a woman does with her own body, or whether same-sex couples can marry, should be decided by government.
Its a tortured, upside-down view of freedom. Yet its remarkably prevalent even as the pandemic resurges America is back up to more than 60,000 new cases a day, the highest rate since July, and numbers continue to rise and as the Senate considers Trumps pick for the supreme court.
I would shut it down I would listen to the scientists, he said.
Biden also wants to protect both abortion and same-sex marriage from government intrusion in 2012 he memorably declared his support of the latter before even Barack Obama did so.
Whats public, whats private and where should government intervene? The question suffuses the impending election
Trumps opposite approaches, discouraging masks and other Covid restrictions while seeking government intrusion into the most intimate decisions anyone makes, have become the de facto centerpieces of his campaign.
At his town hall on Thursday night, Trump falsely claimed that most people who wear masks contract the virus.
Much of the controversy over Trumps nomination of Amy Coney Barrett hinges on her putative willingness to repeal Roe.
Biden: Us Will Again Be Global Leader In Defending Lgbtq Rights
President Obama in 2011 issued a memorandum that made the promotion of LGBTQ rights abroad a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.
The Trump administration did not formalize this directive, but U.S. diplomats have continued to support gay rights abroad.
Eric Nelson
The White House in 2019 tapped then-U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell to lead an initiative that encourages countries to decriminalize homosexuality. Grenell is one of the five openly gay ambassadors who Trump named during his administration.
The Trump administration has nevertheless faced sharp criticism over its domestic LGBTQ rights policy that included the reinstatement of the ban on openly transgender servicemembers. Activists in the U.S. and around the world also condemned the White House over its hardline immigration policy they say has made LGBTQ asylum seekers even more vulnerable.
ABiden-Harris transition spokesperson on Tuesday directed the Blade to theincoming administrations LGBTQ rights platform.
Theincoming administration has pledged to significantly bolster theoffices at the State Department and the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment that are dedicated to promoting global LGBTQ+ rights anddevelopment. Biden has also said he will immediately appointa special LGBTQ rights envoy at the State Department and a special coordinatorat USAID to handle the aforementioned issues.
Taylor SmallBrianna TitoneDanica Roem
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Liz Cheney: `i Was Wrong’ In Opposing Gay Marriage In Past
Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney tells CBS News 60 Minutes that she was wrong to have opposed gay marriage
WASHINGTON — Rep. Liz Cheney says she was wrong to oppose gay marriage in the past, a stand that once split her family.
Cheney, R-Wyo., a fierce critic of fellow Republican Donald Trump, also tells CBS News’ 60 Minutes that she views her reelection campaign as the most important House race in the nation as forces aligned with the former president try to unseat her. She voted to impeach Trump over his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In the interview aired Sunday night, Cheney said she had little affection for President Joe Biden, who she believes has embraced harmful polices for the economy and national security with the Afghanistan withdrawal. But the alternative cannot be a man who doesnt believe in the rule of law, and who violated his oath of office, Cheney said.
The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney was an ascendant Republican leader before the Jan. 6 riot, yet she is increasingly defined by her public opposition to Trump and his hold on the GOP. Cheney, 55, noted that she still talks with her father every night and that they share the same views on rejecting Trump.
In the interview, Cheney said her opposition to gay marriage was misguided and she channeled her sister-in-law’s Facebook post in explaining why she changed her position.
On Elton John’s Wedding
âThereâs a lot to celebrate this holiday season,” he said on the Trump University blog in 2005. “Elton John married his long-time partner David Furnish on December 21. Thatâs the first day that civil partnerships between gay couples became legal in England under the new Civil Partnerships Actâ¦I know both of them and they get along wonderfully. Itâs a marriage thatâs going to workâ¦â¦In any event, Iâm very happy for them. If two people dig each other, they dig each other. Good luck, Elton. Good luck, David. Have a great life.â
The contradictions are real, and it seems that Trump never plans to clear them up.
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Melania Trump Posts Video That Misleads On The President’s Lgbtq Policies
— Melania Trump tweeted a video of herself posted Thursday discussing for three minutes the efforts the Trump administration has made to support the rights of the gay community, blaming sentiments that President Donald Trump opposes gay rights on his “many enemies in the political establishment.”
“I was shocked to discover that some of these powerful people have tried to paint my husband as anti-gay or against equality. Nothing could be further from the truth,” said the first lady.
However, Trump has as President made several policy decisions which have affected the rights and lives of the gay community, and not in a positive way. As a presidential candidate, Trump ran on his personal belief supporting marriage only between a man and a woman.
In 2015, Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper: “I’m just for traditional marriage.”
And in 2011, before running for office, Trump was asked by Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly about same-sex marriage.
“I just don’t feel good about it. I don’t feel right about it. I’m against it and I take a lot of heat because I come from New York. You know, for New York it’s like, how can you be against gay marriage? But I’m opposed to gay marriage,” he said.
But Melania Trump in the video touts her husband as the “first president to enter the White House supporting gay marriage.”
A week after the election, Trump said in a televised interview that he was “fine with” the Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex marriage, but it was not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Nbc Outtrump Admin Backs Catholic School That Fired Gay Teacher
When asked about assertions that the names on the shortlist are anti-LGBTQ, the White House broadly defended the presidents record on judicial appointments.
President Trump has an unmatched record of appointing judges who believe in applying the Constitution as written, not legislating from the bench, White House spokesperson Judd Deere told NBC News in an email. Once again, the President is being transparent with the American people about the qualifications he considers paramount and who he would consider for a seat on the High Court to ensure this exceptional nation built on the rule of law continues for generations to come.
Those qualifications, which were mentioned along with the presidents additional list of potential high court contenders, include a commitment to protect life, protect religious liberty, protect the 2nd Amendment and protect our borders.
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On His Opinion Of Gay Marriage
On CBN’s “The Brody File” in 2011, he said, âWell civil unions, look. First of all, I live in New York. I know many, many gay people. Tremendous people. And to be honest with you, as far as civil unions are concerned, I haven’t totally formed my opinion. But there can be no discrimination against gays. I’m against gay marriage I took a lot of heat for that.â
Trump Administration Again Weakens Lgbt Protections
Congress Should Reject Rule, Ensure Equal Access to Health and Welfare Programs
With less than two weeks left in office, the administration of US President Donald Trump has finalized yet another rule rolling back nondiscrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people seeking the services of health and welfare programs funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Previously, a federal regulation expressly prohibited health and welfare programs receiving federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. But the administrations new rule, first proposed in 2019, erases this language. It also deletes a requirement that recipients recognize the marriages of same-sex couples, replacing it with a generic statement that the US Department of Health and Human Services will respect Supreme Court decisions.
The previous regulation was used to ensure adoption and foster care agencies who receive federal support serve all qualified parents, including same-sex couples. Rolling back existing nondiscrimination protections will harm those families, as well as the many kids awaiting placement in loving and supportive homes.
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Health Care Is Likely The Next Big Fight For Lgbtq People
Even before the pandemic, health care was going to loom large over this election cycle. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act during Trumps term. The administration even submitted a brief to the Supreme Court recently arguing that the law should be thrown out.
The ACA was a landmark piece of health care legislation for Americans particularly so for LGBTQ people. Under an HHS rule established by the Obama administration in 2016, the bill banned health care discrimination against LGBTQ people, but just as key for queer communities were protections for coverage of preexisting conditions. Before the law was passed, anyone diagnosed with gender dysphoria or HIV/AIDS could legally be excluded from health insurance coverage, and transition care could be legally excluded from any insurance plans.
I cant think of a more important issue for transgender people than access to health care, because if were not able to access transition-related care, its just impossible to have a meaningful, authentic life, said Minter.
Should the administration succeed at the Supreme Court in California v. Texas, slated to be heard this fall, people could again be subject to wholesale exclusion from insurance coverage. But even if the law is preserved in some form, the administration has already worked to limit LGBTQ access to health care.
