A senior Trump administration official on Monday said that President Donald Trump is opposed to the Equality Act.
“The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all; however, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights,” the official said in a statement given to the Washington Blade.
The Equality Act seeks to prohibit discrimination against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender in key areas such as employment, housing, federally-funded programs, and public accommodations.
The legislation cleared a pivotal House committee earlier this month and the full House is expected to vote on the Equality Act on Friday.
In a 2000 interview with LGBT glossy The Advocate, Trump said that he favored legislation that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“I like the idea of amending the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include a ban of discrimination based on sexual orientation,” Trump said. “It would be simple. It would be straightforward. We don’t need to rewrite the laws currently on the books, although I do think we need to address hate-crimes legislation. But amending the Civil Rights Act would grant the same protection to gay people that we give to other Americans – it’s only fair.”
During the 2016 election, Trump claimed that he would be a better “friend” to the LGBT community than Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival. Instead, the president has dismantled Obama-era policies allowing transgender individuals to serve openly in the military and transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. He’s also undermined LGBT rights under the guise of protecting “religious freedom.”
by Carlos Santoscoy
Source – On Top Magazine
