Even gay Republicans are now worried Trump will overturn LGBT rights protections
A group of gay Republicans have sent a letter to the President they helped get elected, begging him not to overturn their rights protections.
President Trump, who takes office today, is expected to make a mass purge of regulations and executive orders signed by Barack Obama as one of his first acts in office, though his plans have not been set out in detail.
VP Mike Pence previously teased that orders on LGBT rights protections may be part of the cull. One potential victim of the purge is President Obama’s 2014 executive order outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity among federal contractors, which provided vital protections for LGBT workers after Republicans in Congress blocked attempts to pass a federal anti-discrimination law.
Gay Republican group the Log Cabin Republicans, which rallied in support of Trump last year, this week sent the incoming President a letter begging him not to repeal the order.
The document, penned by President of Log Cabin Republicans Gregory T Angelo, urges President Trump to “keep his promise” to be a “real friend” to the LGBT community, though Trump has never set out a policy agenda on LGBT rights.
The document states: “At the present time, there is no federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
“States have a pastiche of laws and gubernatorial executive orders—some prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and some only on the basis of sexual orientation, while 28 states have no statutes protecting members from the LGBT community from discrimination at all.
“The lack of formal, federal non-discrimination legislation allows the LGBT Non-Discrimination Executive Order to address the plight of LGBT employees.
“Protecting the LGBT community from discrimination is not only right, but popular: an overwhelming majority of Americans (68%) support workplace nondiscrimination protections for LGBT workers.”
It adds: “During his campaign, on the day after the terrorist massacre at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, President-Elect Trump stated he would be a “real friend” to the country’s LGBT community.
“In addition to being the right thing to do, preserving the LGBT Non-Discrimination Executive Order would show the nation that our 45th President is committed to keeping that promise.”
