Photo by Rob Maxwell on Unsplash
Back in 2024, when Donald Trump, now the US president, was running for office, he created a political initiative called Project 2025. In a 1,000-page handbook covering topics from abortion to immigration, the attacks on the LGBTQ+ community start on page 3. It includes the forcible censorship of transgender students in schools by requiring faculty members to misgender them, along with banning them from using the restroom that aligns with their gender. Furthermore, it dismantles the Department of Education, which has pushed for more representation in the classroom, among other policies aimed at harming the queer community.
But this started long before 2024. Back during Trump’s first presidency, his administration made several attacks on the community. He opposed the Equality Act that gave protection to LGBTQ+ community members and appointed anti-LGBTQ+ judges to the court system, including the Supreme Court. Beyond DC, Trump’s agenda affected virtually every part of life for those in the queer community.
In the workplace, the administration submitted amicus briefs to the Supreme Court that pushed for the discrimination of LGBTQ+ community members, banned transgender people from serving in the military, and rolled back discrimination prevention measures created during President Obama’s term, upending previous Department of Justice’s rulings.
Trump attacked healthcare rights by undermining Section 1557 of the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) to remove LGBTQ+ protections from discrimination in various healthcare programs and activities, attempting to remove other key policies in place to benefit the community.
Within schools, Trump eliminated the guidelines made during Obama’s presidency to protect the treatment of transgender students, rejected complaints filed from transgender students, had 4-H programs eliminate a policy that welcomed LGBTQ+ children in 4-H, firing an official who protested, and the Department of Education claimed that school policies allowing tansgender youth to participate in the sport that aligned with their gender identity as a violation of federal law and threatened to withhold funds.
For housing, the administration allowed emergency shelters to deny admitting transgender people, and had the Federal Bureau of Prisons roll back a policy that housed transgender people with their gender identity.
Regarding families, Trump allowed for foster care programs to discriminate, all while expecting taxpayer funds, and allowed the State Department to deny visas for same sex partners of some diplomats if they were not married.
When it came to representation, Trump’s HHS proposed a new definition that would define sex as male or female, eliminated almost all information about LGBTQ+ rights on government websites, and refused to recognize LGBTQ+ community members in his National AIDS Day address, despite the community being most affected by the epidemic.
On a more global level, Trump issued an executive order to create obstacles for LGBTQ+ refugees to obtain asylum in the US, despite them often being the ones fleeing from anti-LGBTQ+ regimes. On top of that, he had the US leave the UN Human Rights Council, citing LGBTQ+ issues and others as reasons, and refused to condemn international attacks on the community.
This was all just during his first term.
A president is supposed to protect our rights, not take them away. The US Constitution is heavily based on the work of Enlightenment philosopher John Locke. A key component of his philosophy was that we all have natural rights: life, liberty, and property. Property refers to your own body and anything you have obtained with your work. Despite Thomas Jefferson swapping it out for “the pursuit of happiness,” it’s still a key component of the Constitution.
The idea that we control our own body as our own property is a fundamental piece of Locke’s works, and it formed fundamental rights we now have, like rights against unlawful searches and seizures, forced medical procedures, and slavery. Another part of this is that Locke believed your property should not be wasted, but within your body; who you are, should not be wasted to someone who you are not.
On the topic of “the pursuit of happiness,” if being who you are makes you happy; isn’t it your right to just be that way?
For a country whose government is based on these principles, it has started dangerously away from them.
Now, during Trump’s second term, he is once again removing the rights and protection of those a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Most target health programs for LGBTQ+ people, and to roll back previous policies protecting the community.
On January 20th, 2025, Trump issued the “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions,” issued by President Biden. In doing this, he essentially undid many of the pro-LGBTQ+ policies Biden had put into place. That same day, he also ordered the following: Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, and Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, all targeted at creating two genders and ending protections for students.
All of this occurred on the day he was inaugurated for his second term.
These policies typically remove protections from the community, especially in school, revoke healthcare and treatments, put in place restrictions and limitations within schools, revoke funds, make it difficult for LGBTQ+ youth to become educated or obtain gender affirming services, and “amend” many previous policies and statements put in place to protect and assist the community.
Another key component of Locke’s philosophy is the idea that governments only exist because of the consent of the governed, who form a society to protect their natural rights. Taking in account this idea of why we have governments, it only makes sense that should said government fail to protect your natural rights, or actively suppress them, the people have the right to abolish or alter it. This statement was also repeated in the US Declaration of Independence, and a similar statement is found in the US Constitution.
In conclusion, though we have the right to be who we want to be, the federal government is actively working to make that harder; to limit our natural rights, take them away. We are our property, and we should have the freedom to be who we want to be in our lives; that shouldn’t be dictated by anyone else.
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