The LGBTQ+ Community’s Rights are Protected under Biden, But the Future Is Uncertain
By: Cindy Chen
Tags: Education, LGBTQ, Elections, Civil Rights

(Source: Mercedes Mehling)

A large canvas banner in support of the Gender-Sexuality Alliance Club (GSA) hangs on the wall in James Caldwell High School in Caldwell, New Jersey. The banner is adorned with messages of acceptance and love — it helps to create an environment where LGBTQ+ students and their allies feel safe, where their concerns feel heard and where their voices feel empowered. For me, it’s a reminder that even as the battle for LGBTQ+ rights continues to rage on, students at JCHS will not be caught in the crossfire, but students felt their freedoms were at stake.

Jackie Li, co-president of the GSA club, views Trump’s current leadership as destructive. As a member of the LGBTQ+ club, she genuinely worries about her own safety. “Having a man who is so openly homophobic and transphobic [sends] a huge message — that the majority of Americans have no trouble overlooking the endangerment of LGBTQ+ people.”

Li points out the hypocrisy of Trump, who “says ‘I support gay people’ while stripping trans people of the rights they’ve fought so hard to earn, appointing openly homophobic people like Amy Coney Barrett to positions of power,” and more. Even though Trump has not been completely open about his anti-LGBTQ+ views, his actions are enough to terrify her.

Our school might have acceptance posters and “safe space” stickers plastered everywhere, but it doesn’t work like a magic wand; it doesn’t wave away homophobia, transphobia and the overall prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community that has been ingrained in our everyday lives. “In Caldwell, I’ve heard people in my study hall openly say that trans people have a mental disorder,” Jackie said. “A teacher in the room overheard our conversation and turned a blind eye — funny behavior for a school that preaches acceptance.”

While this instance may not be directly related to Trump himself, Li points out that people are much more willing to share their hurtful beliefs if they believe they’re condoned by others, including the president himself. According to a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, “Anti-LGBTQ groups have become intertwined with the Trump administration, and — after years of civil rights progress and growing acceptance among the broader American public — anti-LGBTQ sentiment within the Republican Party is rising.” In fact, “groups that vilify the LGBTQ community represented the fastest-growing sector among hate groups in 2019,” the report states.

Bigotry isn’t always intentional, and Li adds that it can often be quite “unthinking,” whether in the form of “tossing the f-slur into daily conversation or making the (overused) joke that they identify as a helicopter,” a mockery of people who aren’t cisgender.

Biden’s LGBTQ+ record isn’t perfect, but Jackie says she’d “rather have someone in office who at least acknowledges members of the LGBTQ+ community over a man who discriminates against and limits them any day.”

During the four years of President Trump’s presidency, he has made every effort to call the worth of the LGBTQ+ community into question. In the first week of his administration, all mentions of LGBTQ+ rights vanished from the White House website. Less than a month later, the U.S. Department of Justice announced “that it will no longer challenge a nationwide hold on protections for transgender students,” revoking legislation on transgender rights passed under the Obama administration. Since then, U.S. embassies have been prohibited from flying rainbow flags during Pride Month, transgender people have been banned from serving in the military and anti-LGBTQ+ judges have been appointed to every level of the judicial system, including Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

Thankfully, it seems that this era will come to a close with the Biden presidency, but the close race of the election is a reminder that hard-won rights can easily be lost. The LGBTQ+ community and its allies must continue fighting for equality, within and beyond elections, to truly protect their freedoms.