Shortly after being inaugurated, Monday, President Trump signed an executive order declaring the government will only recognize two sexes, male and female, as well as declaring the sexes cannot be changed. The President's attack on the transgender community is not a surprise, but seen as a disappointing step backwards for many allies of the transgender community. Jack Kavanaugh, Executive Director of GLYS Western New York, an organization committed to providing a safe and positive environment for LGBTQ plus youth, as well as a supporter of youth of all sexual orientations, expresses his disappointment to what he views of the country going backwards.
“I think what you're seeing on a more community level, macro scale, is definitely a more established normalcy of talking about LGBTQ people in frustrating and disparaging ways. I mean, you know the very notion that you know, they want to roll back marriage equality protections is just absurd. You know, it was just incredibly popular consistently the past 15-20 years. And you know, to see polling data that even marriage equality is suddenly getting lower approval rates. You know, it's just really frustrating.”
Kavanaugh also mentioned it’s important for this population of people to not be used as political fodder.
“I think the most important thing for me is just really underlining that, you know, this is a small population of people in our community, and they're deserving of care and love and compassion and not to be used as these kind of political pawns to stoke fear in people. And you know, it's just really frustrating and disappointing to see that. And again, you know, it's just, I really wish you know, people would find a little more love in their hearts for people that are different from them. But unfortunately, that doesn't really seem to be a priority for our federal government right now.”
The federal government will also shift from using the term gender to sex. Government agencies will also ensure that official documents, including passports, visas and global entry cards, will accurately reflect the holder sex. There are currently no pending legal challenges to the executive order right now, but that is likely to change in the coming months. The American Civil Liberties Union pledging to take the administration to court “whenever they can.” To hear the full story please click the blue listen button above.
