Despite White House Assurances LGBT Advocates Fearful

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality advocates on Tuesday said they were bracing for President Donald Trump to roll back their rights in the workplace despite White House Assurances that this was not going to happen.

The official line is that the 2014 executive order issued by President Barak Obama that barred discrimination against the LGBT community working for federal contractors remains intact.

A White House statement said, “The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP (Republican) nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression.”

Advocates, however, fear that Trump will bring in a new set of executive orders that would allow discrimination on religious grounds undermining the executive order that protected them.

Trump at Odds with other Republicans over LGBT

Many of Trump’s fellow Republicans have often fought civil rights that protected sexual orientation and gender identity.  Enforcing the previous executive order does place Trump at odds with others in his own party.  During his presidential campaign, he had acknowledged gay rights and called for LGBT voters to vote for him.

The LGBT community, however, is hardly secure in having a President like Donald Trump.  His vice president Mike Pence is a conservative Christian and he, along with other senior Republicans oppose gay rights.

The president of Human Rights Campaign, Chad Griffin, felt the appointment of Pence showed Trump’s true views on LGBT.

He said that although Trump spoke a good game he has filled his cabinet with those who had spent careers demonising the community.

U.S Supreme Court

The death of Antonin Scalia has left a vacant position at the U.S Supreme Court with many in the LGBT community fearful of who Trump will nominate as a replacement.

In an MSNBC interview in 2015 Trump said the Supreme Court ruling allowing gay marriage should stand.