Trump is not an ally of the L.G.B.T.

The New York Times recently wrote an editorial on how President Donald Trump is not an ally of the LGBT community. They’re not wrong on this topic. In fact, they are pretty spot on.

Although President Trump has said numerous times that he supports the LGBT community, the only action he has shown, in spite of his word, has been raising a rainbow flag with the words “LGBT for Trump” back in October 2016 during his campaign for presidency. As a president, his actions have shown the opposite of being our ally.

Let’s start with our Vice President Mike Pence. To call Pence a homophobic would be an understatement. Seriously. There have been countless times that Pence supported bills and laws that would take away rights from the LGBT community.

Time Magazine reported on Pence’s stance on certain key LGBT issues. He opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” an intricate policy that essentially barred LGBT people from joining the military with other discriminatory caveats. He opposed transgender bathrooms and laws that would help stop discrimination against LGBT workers.

It’s no surprise that he is also against LGBT couples, stating in a speech that we will signal “societal collapse” and that being gay is a choice. Lastly, he allegedly supports “conversion therapy” according to one of his archived campaign websites.

So how does appointing a vice president that publicly opposes LGBT rights make President Trump an ally of our community? Mind you, Pence is not the only person President Trump chose to be part of his administration that is anti-LGBT. Neil Gorsuch, Betsy DeVos, Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions are only a few of President Trump’s picks that have shown an anti-LGBT sentiment.

It’s not even the people he surrounds himself with that are anti-LGBT, but he has even revoked the transgender bathroom order that former President Obama signed; which was an order that protected transgender students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. This is clearly an act against transgender people, which means an act against LGBT.

It is sad to see LGBT people who still think President Trump is an ally. He has not done anything to prove that he is. Raising a rainbow flag and saying he is our “friend” does not actually make him an ally if he does not show any actions in favor of our rights.

I want President Trump to further the rights of the LGBT community rather than regress them. Only then will he be an ally to the LGBT community. Until then, his actions have shown he is more an enemy of the community than an ally.