Would the President-elect make good on his pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which protects transgender people from discrimination in accessing health care? Will he appoint conservative judges to the US Supreme Court who could roll back marriage equality and other civil rights? Will Pence's long-ago support for so-called "conversion therapy" translate to a directive for LGBT youth?
Questions such as these flooded the offices of LGBT advocacy groups nationwide following Trump's victory early Wednesday.
Despite being regarded by some as one of the most "pro-LGBT" Republican presidential nominees ever, who expressed sympathy for the LGBT community after the Orlando nightclub shooting, critics say his conservative advisers -- Pence included -- and the Republican party's anti-LGBT platform are a threat to the progress made during the Obama administration's legacy.
"We're hearing from really, really scared people," said Rachel Tiven, CEO of Lambda Legal, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization. "We're seeing a fear of an atmosphere of intolerance that began with Trump's campaign."
Spokespeople for Trump and Pence did not return requests for comment.
The Human Rights Campaign, which supported Hillary Clinton, held a Facebook Live broadcast on Thursday to address some of the concerns. Here's what their experts and others from national LGBT groups had to say. Just to add to people protesting against Donald Trump being elected president; they just have to accept the fact that he is going to be president. Do they really expect Trump not to be president and what if Trump supporters did the same if Hillary Clinton had been elected president.
Protesters take part in a demonstration against Donald Trump's presidential election victory in Los Angeles.
Is this the end of same-sex marriage?
Many same-sex couples worry that their marriages could be invalidated in Trump's America, or that if things are getting serious they better hurry up and make it official before their right to tie the knot disappears.
Neither the President nor Congress can take away what the Supreme Court has deemed a "fundamental right," leaving current marriages safe, multiple legal experts said.
While Trump does not have the right to unilaterally scrap marriage equality, he has the power to appoint Supreme Court justices who could.
So far, judicial conservatives are said to be very pleased with his potential nominees. But it would take a long time for the court to repeal marriage equality -- if they decide to, Tiven said. Regardless of who replaces Justice Antonin Scalia, the five Supreme Court justices who ushered in marriage equality will remain. The jurists that replace them could be the ones that bring change.
By then, though, advocates are optimistic that society will have adjusted to the idea and let it be.
"People's hearts and minds have changed," HRC legal director Sarah Warbelow said. "We've had rights rolled back but it is rare."
What about same-sex adoption?
Gay and lesbian parents are worried that their parental rights could be in jeopardy, especially for the non-biological parent.
Even if that person's name is on the child's birth certificate, experts say it's best to adopt the child.
Also called a second parent adoption, it's a court order that says as a legal matter the adult is a parent, said Jennifer C. Pizer, senior counsel and law and policy director of Lambda Legal.
Though the states set adoption and parental rights policies, adoption ensures both parents have a legal tie, which could help in challenges to parental rights at the federal level.
"Court judgments are recognized from state to state as a constitutional rule so even if federal law changes you're a parent of the child," she said.
Good riddance
ReplyDeleteGood riddance
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