LGBT movement back on defense as Trump era arrives [View all]

[DonViejo]

December 14, 2016 at 4:18 pm EST | by Chris Johnson

In anticipation of the upcoming Trump administration, at least one LGBT advocate insists the movement will continue to pursue its full agenda, although the election results have dampened expectations and sent advocacy groups back into a defensive posture.

The surprise win by Donald Trump dashed plans for continued LGBT progress under Hillary Clinton. With unified Republican government at the federal level and unprecedented Republican control of state legislatures, LGBT rights may take a few steps back.

Stacey Long Simmons, director of public policy and government affairs for the National LGBTQ Task Force, nonetheless struck an optimistic tone, citing recent wins for the LGBT movement. “I believe that combined momentum-slash-angst that our community may be feeling because of how vehemently anti-LGBTQ the Trump administration is shaping up to be could actually put us in a position to come together in alignment with other movements that are similarly dealing with high rates of profiling, hate crime attacks, assaults on our personhood and violations of privacy,” Long Simmons said.

Prior to the election, the Human Rights Campaign had reportedly prepared a memo calling for the next administration to enhance LGBT rights further after progress under the Obama administration. Among the requests was the appointment of the first-ever openly LGBT Cabinet member and eliminating the ban on HIV-positive people serving in the U.S. armed forces. It’s hard to see how that could happen under the Trump administration.

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http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/12/14/lgbt-movement-on-defense-as-trump-era-arrives/