From Lambda Legal:
(NEW YORK, February 2, 2017) — Reports indicate that President Trump may issue an Executive Order that will encourage sweeping discrimination against LGBT people and women. Lambda Legal released the following statement in response to a leaked draft of the order:
"The reported Executive Order is a direct attack on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, everyone living with HIV, women, and all Americans who love liberty," said Lambda Legal CEO Rachel B. Tiven. "The immediate public outcry in response to the leaked order confirmed what we already know: people overwhelmingly reject discrimination against LGBT people and don't want taxpayer money to fund hatred. Bigotry—whether against LGBT people, women, Muslim immigrants or refugees—has no place in our country.
"The Administration needs to stand down. Lambda Legal is remaining vigilant and is ready to file suit if this Executive Order is issued."
From The Human Rights Campaign:
WASHINGTON, DC — The Human Rights Campaign responded to new media reports about a leaked License to Discriminate Executive Order that is being prepared by Donald Trump's White House, less than 48 hours after they claimed to be supportive of the LGBTQ community. The leaked order — which would allow an unprecedented expansion of taxpayer-funded discrimination that could have broad implications on LGBTQ people — would be a direct contradiction of claims made earlier in the week order that Donald Trump would be an ally to the LGBTQ community.
HRC has been raising concerns throughout the week and the White House may now be poised to move us backward.
See www.thenation.com/article/leaked-draft-of-trumps-religious-freedom-order-reveals-sweeping-plans-to-legalize-discrimination/ .
HRC President Chad Griffin said:
"The leaked draft of Donald Trump's License to Discriminate order is sweeping and dangerous. It reads like a wishlist from some of the most radical anti-equality activists. If true, it seems this White House is poised to wildly expand anti-LGBTQ discrimination across all facets of the government — even if he does maintain the Obama EO. If Donald Trump goes through with even a fraction of this order, he'll reveal himself as a true enemy to LGBTQ people.
"We've already seen that the Trump administration is willing to go after women, immigrants, people of color, and most frighteningly, people who disagree with him. If this version is true this could represent another chilling attempt to go after LGBTQ people, federal employees, employees of federal contractors, and people served by federal programs funded with taxpayer dollars. The impacts extend to anybody in the LGBTQ community, women, minority religious communities and others. Let's make one thing clear: the Human Rights Campaign will fight tooth-and-nail to protect the LGBTQ community, and protect its members from discrimination."
The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund is releasing the following statement regarding a leaked draft Executive Order from the Trump Administration that, if accurate, would promote widespread discrimination. The draft order, which uses religion as an excuse to discriminate, is the subject of a story in The Nation.
"This rumored executive order is a charter for widespread and divisive discrimination, against LGBTQ people, and frankly against everyone. It is designed to destroy lives and roll-back fundamental rights. It trashes the separation of church and state and aims to combine them. It will have an immediate and chilling impact on every aspect of our lives, disproportionately impacting the vulnerable. Consider the fact that personal assistant services for seniors and persons with disabilities are regularly controlled by religious organizations. This executive order could have devastating consequences for LGBTQ older adults and people with disabilities who rely on these services or reside in assisted living facilities. Our youth are also especially at risk under these policies. For example, almost 20% of the 400,000 youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ. Under this order, placement organizations don't have to serve them, or the potential parents who seek to support them. That's 80,000 young people that can be denied service under this executive order. You can be sure that Trump's extremist troops — including a new government enforcement squad to be set up under this executive order — will be encouraged to implement his order with zeal, slashing and burning civil and constitutional rights as they go along. What will be shocking to millions of people of all faiths and secular people alike is that Trump radically twists freedom of and freedom from religion to justify this amoral action. If this leak is accurate, and he signs this or a similar order, it will be a truly devastating day for American freedoms. We will continue to join with immigrants, Muslims, refugees, women and other fair-minded people in protecting what we hold to be good and true about America," said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund.
From the Center for American Progress's Winnie Stachelberg:
Washington, D.C. — Tonight, media outlets reported on a potential forthcoming executive order from the Trump administration that would legalize broad discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, individuals, as well as jeopardize women's access to health services. Winnie Stachelberg, Executive Vice President for External Affairs at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
If the rumors are accurate, this executive order would sanction sweeping taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBT people, women, and their families in blatant violation of Trump's promise to "protect our LGBT citizens." This language would give federal employees and recipients of federal funds—including for-profit corporations—free rein to discriminate against LGBT people, women, and families who do not comply with their beliefs. It would target LGBT families and single parents and harm thousands of children by expressly allowing child welfare services to discriminate.
It directs every federal agency to gut protections for LGBT people—from executive orders to agency rulings and guidance—and puts people's homes, livelihoods, and their very health at risk. The fact that this type of order is even under consideration lays plain the anti-equality agenda this administration brings to the White House, proving once again that the Trump administration will shamelessly lie to the American people, including the taxpayers who will now be forced to fund discrimination they do not support.
From The Williams Institute:
Executive Order Under Consideration by Trump Administration Would Allow Discrimination Against LGBT People
Order Could Impact Hundreds of Thousands of LGBT People, Including Tens of Thousands of LGBT Youth in Foster Care and Same-Sex Couples Seeking to Foster or Adopt
President Trump is considering issuing an executive order that provides sweeping protections for employers and service providers that discriminate against LGBT people. The draft of the executive order circulated on February 1, 2017 would prohibit the federal government from withholding grants, contracts, or federal benefits from entities that discriminate against LGBT employees or beneficiaries based on religious objection—a belief that being LGBT is immoral or inconsistent with religious doctrine.
Such an executive order could potentially impact thousands of same-sex couples seeking to adopt or foster children, tens of thousands of LGBT youth in foster care, and hundreds of thousands of LGBT workers employed by federal contractors and the federal government.
The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law is providing this fact sheet to assist with reporting on these issues. Williams Institute scholars are available to provide comment and analysis.
Same-Sex Couples Seeking to Adopt or Foster Children
The draft executive order would allow federally-funded religious organizations providing child welfare services to decline adoption and foster services to same-sex couples. Williams Institute research shows that many same-sex couples adopt and foster children, and are more likely to do so than different-sex couples:
More than 16,000 same-sex couples are raising an estimated 22,000 adopted children in the U.S.
Same-sex couples are four times more likely to be raising adopted children than different-sex couples.
Approximately 2,600 same-sex couples are raising an estimated 3,400 foster children in the U.S.
Same-sex couples are six times more likely to be fostering children than different-sex couples.
The draft executive order could limit opportunities for family formation among same-sex couples, and leave many children without a foster placement or permanent home.
LGBT Youth in Foster Care
The draft executive order would allow religious organizations providing child welfare services to decline to serve LGBT youth. Williams Institute research finds that LGBT youth are greatly overrepresented in the foster system; for example, in Los Angeles, LGBT youth make up 20 percent of the youth population in care, compared to only 8 percent of the general youth population. Of the 400,000 children currently in foster care, an estimated 80,000 are LGBT.
LGBT Employees of Federal Contractors
Over 20 percent of the U.S. workforce — 28 million people — are employed by federal contractors. Under an executive order issued by former President Obama in 2014, federal contractors are prohibited from discriminating against their employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity. President Trump's draft order would limit the scope of the 2014 order, allowing contractors to discriminate against LGBT employees based on their religious beliefs without losing their contracts.
The Williams Institute estimated that as a result of the 2014 executive order, 11 million workers, including 400,000 LGBT employees, gained protections from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. These 11 million employees did not have protections from sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination under a corporate policy or state law before the 2014 order was issued.
The draft order would potentially strip an important source of legal protections from many LGBT workers of federal contractors, including workers who are not otherwise protected from discrimination under state non-discrimination laws or corporate policies.
LGBT Federal Employees
The draft order would open the door for harassment and discrimination against LGBT people who work for the federal government. An estimated 64,000 LGBT people are federal civil service employees.
Services Provided to Same-Sex Couples
The draft order would open the door for denial of services and discrimination against same-sex married couples. There are over 500,000 married same-sex couples in the U.S.
Access to Health Care
The draft order would limit federal regulations that protect LGBT people from discrimination in health care, including by hospitals, insurers, and other providers. There are over 10 million LGBT adults in the United States. In particular, the over 1.4 million transgender adults in the U.S. would be vulnerable to discrimination in health care and denial of services under the draft order.
The Williams Institute, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance.
