As the mail-in ballots come in and disturb our sense of peace regarding this presidential race and all it entails, what does it mean for our community if there is a second Trump presidency? How might our lives change, and what could our communities look like, if, after we close our eyes while votes are being cast, we hear those words from our televisions: “Donald J. Trump has won the presidential race”? I can see it now: TikTok videos of opposing sides—one celebrating loudly and the other realizing that this celebration marks the beginning of a long, uncertain four-year term for certain civil freedoms and justices. That one distant uncle we keep on Facebook to be civil posts about how great it is, aligning with his not-so-private thoughts on ‘how things should be.’ We know it’s going to be a long post and that the holidays could be very awkward if we have to see him this year and the next.
We are already facing a decline in U.S. government support for LGBTQ issues, with at least nineteen bills that aim to amend or create protections for our community still in the introduction phase. Some bills date back to 2021, while others are current to this year. It’s a slow-moving process for these bills, which range from amendments to the Older Americans Act of 1965 (to ensure equal treatment of older LGBTQ individuals) to amendments to the Public Health Service Act (to provide protections for LGBTQ individuals and authorize grants for more inclusive training in suicide prevention and awareness in schools). These are just a few among many that remain frozen in time.
So, what does this mean? To put it simply, if these bills reach the House and Senate and get as far as providing growth in our laws to protect our communities, who would be the president to accept or veto them? Donald J. Trump would not accept these bills, not with the “Agenda 47” platform he has promoted. Some of these pending bills advocate for protections of transgender individuals, and with his history of opposing gender-affirming care, they would not pass if they landed on his desk as president. This would mean that, as a community, we would be forced to amend these bills and restart the process—a process already tilted against us in terms of time and agency. We would start back at square one.
As Trump has boasted before, he is a businessman, and he brings that ideology to his conservative policies, often adding broad terms that hint at more than he lets on. After all we’ve learned, sometimes it’s wise to read the terms and conditions; and Trump’s propositions come with terms and conditions that contain hidden clauses. For example, he has talked about banning gender-affirming care for minors on his campaign website, under a video titled: President Trump’s Plan to Protect Children from Left-Gender Insanity. He uses crude terms, such as “mutilation,” to fear-monger about gender-affirming care for minors. However, he doesn’t intend to stop at minors. Trump states, “I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age.” His 16-page proposition confirms that he seeks to ban gender-affirming care for any age, including transgender adults.
He doesn’t stop there, as he seeks to establish a federal definition of gender as biologically male and female. Trump declares, “I will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female—and that they are assigned at birth. The bill will also make clear that Title IX prohibits men from participating in women’s sports.” This would erase many identities within the community and change how we protect students under Title IX. Title IX already has a complex history with protections for students and how they’re interpreted. Under his plan, protections for LGBTQ students would be limited, and it’s doubtful he would allow amendments that protect LGBTQ individuals to remain, as they would contradict his goals and ideals.
These are just a few of many agendas he has that would negatively impact our communities and how we are treated. Even in the best-case scenario, if he were to be impeached, he leaves behind J.D. Vance, his vice president—a highly conservative Republican senator. During Vance’s campaign for senator, he was asked how he would have voted on the Respect for Marriage Act, which requires state and federal governments to recognize legal same-sex and interracial marriages. Vance stated he would have voted no on that legislation. It’s no surprise that Trump would choose a running mate with similar ideals. As Trump promotes in his education agenda, “As part of our new credentialing body for teachers, we will promote positive education about the nuclear family, the roles of mothers and fathers, and celebrating rather than erasing the things that make men and women different and unique.” He plans to push a heteronormative, conservative narrative into classrooms, erasing the progress toward inclusivity that we have been working so hard to achieve in creating safe spaces for students of all identities, sexualities, and backgrounds.
