How Trump’s Presidency Could Affect LGBTQ People — & What You Can Do About It

Three weeks on, America is still reeling from the shock of Donald J. Trump’s election to the highest office in the country. For many of us, this is not simply a matter of losing a political fight; our lives have been completely destabilized. People of color, immigrant families, and women, just to name a few groups, have very real reason to worry that Trump will undermine the civil liberties we have fought so hard to secure.

The LGBTQ community intersects with many groups Trump has insulted, but we have our own unique issues that we fear will be threatened. The Obama administration made so many strides to recognize queer love and respect gender affirmation in our institutions, and there is a very real chance that those victories will backslide in the coming years. My queer community and chosen queer family are angry, terrified, anguished, disappointed, disillusioned, despairing…and mobilizing.

Whether you like it or not, Trump is our president-elect, and Mike Pence will be his vice president. Queer people — gay people, lesbians, transgender people, gender-nonconforming people, intersex people, and people of all marginalized sexual and gender identities — as well as our allies must educate ourselves today. Not when we get around to it. Right. Now.

It’s important that we have more than a vague understanding of Trump and Pence’s positions on same-sex marriage, conversion therapy, employment discrimination, and other issues that influence American ideological and legal stances on our lives. We need to rise up, organize, and give our time, money, and resources. And because LGBTQ discrimination is about prejudice against the unique, beautiful way we love, we need to generate care among our families, friends, communities, and selves.

So here are the track records of Trump and Pence on issues that affect LGBTQ people, and some suggestions for what to do to fight, to take care of ourselves, and to fortify our communities.