The
Washington Post has been keeping track of the number of lies that Donald Trump
has told in public. When I checked the site yesterday, it had last been updated
on May 29, 2020, at that time, Trump had been in office for 1,226 (long and disastrous)
days in office. In that time, Trump has made 19,128
false or misleading claims. During his time in office, Trump and his administration
has been the most viciously anti-LGBTQ administration in the nation's history.
Now, the Republican Party has published a claim so preposterous you’d think it
was published in The Onion. President
Donald Trump, they say, has “taken
unprecedented steps to protect the LGBTQ community.” This from a man that
picked Mike Pence, one of America’s most homophobic politicians, as his Vice President.
On the same day the Republican Party made this announcement, they also
announced it would recycle its cruel 2016 platform that specifically targeted
the LGBTQ community for condemnation.
As such, the
Republican platform will continue to oppose same-sex marriage and the expansion
of civil rights for sexual orientation and gender identity while supporting
President Donald Trump’s transgender military ban, conversion therapy, and
businesses discriminating against same-sex couples.
In the statement released by the GOP, the party only lists times the president “kept his promise to protect the LGBTQ
citizens,” conveniently leaving out the hundreds of times the administration
has actively worked to undermine the community. Many of the accomplishments
were simply continuations of protocols set by previous administrations and were either broken promises or extremely misleading. One of the statement’s
assertions touts that since elected, President Trump has selected five openly
gay persons for a position as U.S. Ambassador: Robert Gilchrist,
Richard Grenell, Randy Berry, Eric Nelson, and Jeff Daigle. The document also
points out that in 2019, President Trump's first LGBTQ judicial nominee, Mary
Rowland was confirmed to the District Court of Northern District of Illinois.
In
a letter to the U.S. Military Academy’s graduating class, a coalition of
several hundred West Point alumni slammed the Trump administration’s
politicization of the military amid nationwide protests. “Sadly, the government
has threatened to use the Army in which you serve as a weapon against fellow
Americans engaging in these legitimate protests. Worse, military leaders, who
took the same oath you take today, have participated in politically charged
events,” the alumni wrote. “The oath taken by those who choose to serve in
America’s military is aspirational. We pledge service to no monarch; no
government; no political party; no tyrant,” the group continued, adding that
they were “concerned that fellow graduates serving in senior-level, public
positions are failing to uphold their oath of office and their commitment to
Duty, Honor, Country.” I bring this up because like those West Point alumni in the Trump administration who
have betrayed their oath, Robert Gilchrist, Richard Grenell, Randy Berry, Eric
Nelson, and Jeff Daigle have betrayed their own LGBTQ community.
There is no excuse for someone working against their own best interest for fame, power, or whatever reason they try to justify their traitorous actions. To quote Michelangelo Signorile, “When you will sell out your own kind, there’s really no telling how low you will go.” Maybe the lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women (as far as I know, there are no transgender people in the administration) who work in the Trump administration don’t see themselves as traitors, yet they work for an administration that has systematically done everything it can to destroy LGBTQ equality since being sworn into office. The lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who work for an administration which is actively trying to destroy the LGBTQ community may claim that they are trying to work within the system to change it are deceiving themselves and anyone who listens to them. Instead they need to be advocating strongly for LGBTQ rights and not collaborating with people working against that cause. They need to actively be working to get this administration our of office. When Joe Biden becomes president, this country will once again stand as a beacon of hope for LGBTQ people in America and around the world.
There is no excuse for someone working against their own best interest for fame, power, or whatever reason they try to justify their traitorous actions. To quote Michelangelo Signorile, “When you will sell out your own kind, there’s really no telling how low you will go.” Maybe the lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women (as far as I know, there are no transgender people in the administration) who work in the Trump administration don’t see themselves as traitors, yet they work for an administration that has systematically done everything it can to destroy LGBTQ equality since being sworn into office. The lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who work for an administration which is actively trying to destroy the LGBTQ community may claim that they are trying to work within the system to change it are deceiving themselves and anyone who listens to them. Instead they need to be advocating strongly for LGBTQ rights and not collaborating with people working against that cause. They need to actively be working to get this administration our of office. When Joe Biden becomes president, this country will once again stand as a beacon of hope for LGBTQ people in America and around the world.
Donald
Trump and Mike Pence have done everything in their power to endanger the rights
and lives of LGBTQ people: banning transgender service members from being able
to serve their country, proposing policies to strip LGBTQ health care
protections, allowing homeless shelters to turn away transgender people, and
encouraging adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ families, and the list seems to never end.
The list the GOP released includes laughably tiny gestures like allowing a gay man to speak at
the 2016 convention and lists various appointments he made that were filled by
LGBTQ community members, like the ones I mentioned above. For many in the LGBTQ community, they risked everything to come out and be who they really are. Most survived, others did not, and many others lost their family and friends. We have fought too hard to let our government take away our rights.
A
large part of the list revolves around former ambassador to Germany Richard
Grenell. The out Trump acolyte was tapped to serve as Acting Director of
National Intelligence, making him the first gay person to hold a cabinet-level
position. Grenell’s tenure in both positions was rocked with repeated scandals
and German officials reportedly “shunned” the controversial diplomat for his
association with the far right, his interference in German domestic politics,
and a perceived lack of professionalism, describing him as “narcissistic.” As
the ambassador, Grenell announced a new federal initiative to decriminalize
homosexuality around the world and said it demonstrated Trump’s commitment to
civil rights and the LGBTQ community. Asked about it by reporters, Trump
admitted he didn’t know anything about it. In total, Trump has nominated five
gay men to ambassadorial positions, yet the administration refused to allow
embassies to fly rainbow flags during Pride month.
Why am I saying all of this? It's because lesbian,
gay, and bisexual kids are three times more likely than straight kids to
attempt suicide at some point in their lives. Medically serious attempts at
suicide are four times more likely among LGBTQ youth than other young people. African
American, Latino, Native American, and Asian American people who are lesbian,
gay, or bisexual attempt suicide at especially high rates. One study found that
41 percent of transgender adults said they had attempted suicide. The same
study found that 61 percent of transgender people who were victims of physical
assault had attempted suicide. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people who come
from families that reject or do not accept them are over eight times more
likely to attempt suicide than those whose families accept them. Each time an
LGBTQ person is a victim of physical or verbal harassment or abuse, they become
two and a half times more likely to hurt themselves. This administration is
furthering this with their policies of LGBTQ discrimination.
If
we had a more accepting society in America, we could fight these statistics.
So, I partially hold those LGBTQ people who work for the Trump administration responsible
because they are helping make it harder for the LGBTQ community. I had a very
good friend who was gay. Even though his family was not religious, they were
conservative. When he came out to them, his brother nearly beat him to death
while his parents watched and did nothing. His family never spoke to him again.
Shortly after that, he tried to commit suicide. Thank goodness, he failed in
his attempt. A friend found him in time, and he was taken to a hospital. Sadly,
he died too young in a car accident several years later. This is hard for me to
write, but because gay people were so demonized when I was growing up, I didn’t
think it was possible for me to be gay. I was bullied relentlessly in school for
being a sissy, appearing to be gay, or because my voice was not deep enough. The bullying
and the inability to deal with my own sexuality led me to try and take my own
life. I thank God every day that I was unsuccessful. I believe now that God had
and has a plan for me. However, my parents still don’t accept me being gay, and
I don’t expect they ever will. I suspect that a large number of my LGBTQ readers have faced similar issues: you either have attempted suicide, you know an LGBTQ who has attempted suicide, or you know an LGBTQ person who did commit suicide.
All
of these are reasons why LGBTQ people should not work within an administration
like Trump’s because by doing so, they are showing acceptance of his policies.
We have to fight as hard as we can against LBGTQ discrimination. We need the United States to
show the world that we care about our LGBTQ community. We can do that by electing
Joe Biden. He has already been shown to be an LGBTQ ally, and his campaign
recently announced a new voter outreach effort, Out For Biden, aimed at the
LGBTQ community. Biden believes that every human being should be treated with
respect and dignity and be able to live without fear no matter who they are or
who they love. During the Obama-Biden Administration, the United States made
historic strides toward LGBTQ equality: the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,”
Biden’s historic declaration in support of marriage equality on Meet the Press
in 2012, and the unprecedented advancement of protections for LGBTQ Americans at
the federal level. While there are 11 million LGBTQ Americans eligible to vote
in the upcoming presidential election, over 2 million aren’t registered to
vote. According to the Williams Institute, 50 percent of registered LGBTQ voters are
Democrats, 15 percent are Republicans, 22 percent are Independents, and 13
percent said they identify with another party or did not know with which party
they most identify. LGBTQ voters are racially diverse, 47 percent are under age
35, and one-third have at least a college education. As LGBTQ people, we are
central to the fabric of this country. We must elect a government that will focus their voices and celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ people everywhere.
The
bottom line is that if you support Trump you cannot seriously claim to support
the LGBTQ community. As I said the other day “Not all Trump supporters are
racist, but all of them decided that racism isn’t a deal breaker.” The same
goes true concerning the LGBTQ community: not all Trump supporters are homophobic,
but all of them decided that homophobia isn’t a deal breaker. This was clearly
and bluntly (with a few expletives) illustrated by a gay Texas man named Andrew
Joseph Duffer, who recently posted a YouTube video titled: “Five Minutes of Hot Tea.”
The video may be hilarious, but Duffer’s description of Trump supporters in his
small Texas hometown should raise concerns. I can relate to this video concerning
my friends and family back in Alabama. As Duffer points out, “it’s not a difference
of opinion, it’s a difference of morality.” If you haven’t seen this video, it’s
worth watching. He uses some language I don’t use among polite society, but
few of my friends are polite, so I won’t say its language I don’t use. Watch it
if you want. Some will like it, some won’t:
1 comment:
You're damn right about those gay Republicans.
I have a gay (married) couple friends of mine living in Delaware that are HARD hearted Republicans.
One is an American and the other, I know for more than 26 years, is a Québécois but now has is American citizenship.
Both of them told me when Obama was President that they would «kill» him if they could.
I will not say how they named Michele Obama because it was very disgraceful and low.
For sure they are «Fox News» fans and now that «45» is in office, nothing BAD is cmoing out of this administration. Worse, now they are making fun of Nancy Pelosi and all what is going wrong in USA is from Obama and Démocrates in Congress.
Not mentioning what they think about Governor Cuomo.
Only one small example of what you wrote about that some LGBTQ are blinded and are betraying their own people no matter what.
This coupe is a white one and wealthy too so never they will want to help other poorest Americans to have universal health care. "Why should I pay for those lazy people to get this advantage I've worked for so hard…" Said the American.
This American is a Orthodox Christian who goes to church and worship the Bible.
Which makes him a more double face man.
Racism and homophobia aren't going to get away soon in USA.
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