Trump Follows in Obama’s Lead in Supporting LGBTQ: Is it a facade?

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Julia Berry (11th), Reporter

“Donald Trump has left the key question unanswered – will he commit to opposing any executive actions that allow government employees, taxpayer-funded organizations or even companies to discriminate?” asked Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin.

This question was answered on Tuesday, January 31st when the White House announced that President Donald Trump will continue to preserve President Barack Obama’s Executive Order, which bans the discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees.

But, don’t start celebrating just yet.

Although President Trump has voiced some support for the LGBTQ community, he remains opposed to same sex marriage. Trump even said that he would “strongly consider” appointing a Supreme Court justice who would overturn the high court’s 2015 ruling that legalized same sex marriage nationwide.

As Trump officially accepted the GOP nomination, he stated, “As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.” 

LGBT groups were not exactly thrilled with the mere preservation of Obama’s 2014 workplace protections.

Several people and LGBT leaders like Rachel Tiven, the CEO of LGBT legal advocacy organization Lambda Legal, remain skeptical. They say they’re not fooled by the White House’s statement claiming that Trump has been and will continue to be “supportive of LGBTQ rights.”

“What we are expecting continues to be an attack on LGBT people,” Tiven told The Daily Beast. “Keeping a provision that makes life more fair for more Americans shouldn’t be news.” It is hard to remain optimistic when the majority of Trump’s cabinet is anti-LGBTQ.

Griffin also states that President Trump “talks a big game on his support for LGBTQ people, yet he has filled his cabinet with people who have literally spent their careers working to demonize us and limit our rights.”

So the question remains. Will Trump follow through with his promises, or will flaking become a pattern?