Fulfilling a campaign promise he made, President Donald Trump signed anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders on his first day in office.
During his inauguration speech on Jan. 20, Trump said that the country would only recognize two genders. He later signed an order that requires the government to use the term “sex” rather than “gender”; it also mandates that identification documents issued by the government (including passports and visas) be based on what it described as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female,” according to Reuters.
On the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, Trump repealed 78 executive orders signed by now-former President Joe Biden, including at least a dozen measures backing racial equity and fighting anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.
“This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” Trump also said in his inaugural address.
Human-rights advocates and groups immediately vowed to protect minorities and challenge Trump’s agenda. “We refuse to back down or be intimidated. We are not going anywhere, and we will fight back against these harmful provisions with everything we’ve got,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
She added, “Our community has fought for decades to ensure that our relationships are respected at work, that our identities are accepted at school, and that our service is honored in the military. Any attack on our rights threatens the rights of any person who doesn’t fit into the narrow view of how they should look and act. The incoming administration is trying to divide our communities in the hope that we forget what makes us strong.” Robinson also assured the public that Trump’s “actions will not take effect immediately.”
In a statement that Windy City Times received, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) Executive Director Ricardo Martinez said, “The administration is trying to create fear and sow chaos by its statements and orders, but no executive action can change the fundamental truth that transgender people are vital members of our families and communities. Like all people, transgender people deserve dignity, respect, and the freedom to live without fear of government-sanctioned harm.
“A president’s powers are not unlimited—the Constitution, federal courts and our democratic system serve as a bulwark against government overreach. The implementation of today’s order and others that may follow, cannot happen overnight.”
Equality Illinois CEO Brian C. Johnson emailed to Windy City Times, “After promoting and benefiting from $250 million in anti-trans messaging during his campaign, President Trump used his first day in office to attack nearly 2 million trans people in America instead of focusing on the issues that Americans care about the most. Despite its sweeping nature, we anticipate much of yesterday’s executive order will be challenged in courts and potentially narrowed during the implementation process. But Donald Trump has already delivered on his campaign promise to use the highest office in the land to threaten the lives, health, and safety of trans people. Equality Illinois stands ready to fight back on this agenda of hate and continue to push to make Illinois the most affirming state in the country for LGBTQ+ people.”