Is Donald Trump preparing to sign an executive order specifically targeting the LGBT community?
According to initial reports, the President is on the verge of signing a sweeping anti-LGBT executive order, that would permit discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the federal government and beyond.
Sean Spicer, Trump’s press secretary was asked about the rumours, and declined to comment.
He said: “I’m not getting ahead of the executive orders that we may or may not issue.
“There’s a lot of executive orders, a lot of things the president has talked about and will continue to fulfil but we have nothing on that front now.”
In 2014, Obama signed an order that prohibited federal contractors from discrimination against gay and transgender workers. The order was criticized by some religious leaders as their were no exemptions for religious organizations.
The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement earlier calling the possibility of such an order targeting LGBTQ people “deeply troubling.”
“The rumors of an anti-LGBTQ executive action by President Trump are deeply troubling. We already know that he is willing to target and marginalize at-risk communities for his perceived political gain,” said JoDee Winterhof, the Human Rights Campaign’s Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. “As the President and his team plan their next steps, we want to make one thing clear: we won’t give one inch when it comes to defending equality, whether it is a full-on frontal assault or an attack under the guise of religion.”
