LGBT rally
By Quita Tinsley • @hello_quita • 7 years ago

The Trump Administration Continues Attacks on LGBT People

A few days into this week, the Trump administration has already made two strikes against the LGBT community, by revoking protections for federal contractors and erasing LGBT people from the 2020 census.

On Monday, Donald Trump signed an executive order which overturned the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order, an Obama administration executive order, which required federal contractors to prove they are in compliance with anti-discrimination law and don’t steal their employees’ wages. On Tuesday, the U.S. Census announced its 2020 report would not questions related to sexual orientation or gender identity, even though a draft had a proposal to include these categories for the first time. 

With these actions, the Trump administration has yet again made efforts “to deny LGBTQ people freedom, justice, and equity” and undermine the enforcement of LGBT specific programs and legislation.

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Image via The Task Force

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s even more frightening is that 2020 Census is not the only place where the Trump Administration is erasing LGBT people. Following the reversal of federal guidance outlining protections for transgender students, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has abandoned federal guidelines that impact LGBT beneficiaries of two programs. Emergency shelters funded by HUD are no longer required “to post information about LGBTQ people’s rights to access shelter safely and in accordance with their gender identity.” HUD has also gotten rid of data collection and implementation guidelines for a homelessness prevention program for LGBT youth. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) eliminated LGBT-specific questions from two surveys that are critical to setting federal policy that helps seniors and people with disabilities.

Contrary to Trump’s statements that he would not overturn LGBT protections, he has shown us throughout his first 70 days that this is a lie. While some people may think that survey questions are not significant, they cause tangible, long-lasting harm to LGBT people. As Liv Bruce of PWR BTTM tweeted, by refusing to collect data on LGBT people, the government is making it easier for them to cut programs that benefit us, and ultimately say that we do not exist.

Header via NPR.

Quita Tinsley is a fat, Black, queer femme that writes, organizes, and overall is working to build sustainable change in the South. She holds a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in Sociology from Georgia State University, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from her alma mater. She is a member on the board of directors of Access Reproductive Care – Southeast, and is a former content creator for the The Body Is Not An Apology. As a femme, feminist, and queer Black woman, it is through her lived experiences and complex identities that Quita has come to believe in the power of storytelling and the validation of lived experiences.

Quita Tinsley is a fat, Black, queer femme that writes, organizes, and overall is working to build sustainable change in the South.

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