LGBTQ Groups Sue Trump Over Anti-Trans Orders
The lawsuit challenges three anti-equity executive orders.
On Thursday, February 20, multiple non-profit LGBTQ+, Health, and HIV Organizations sued the Trump administration over three executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and transgender people.
Filed by Lambda Legal, the lawsuit challenges order 14168, entitled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which seeks to deny the existence of transgender and gender non-conforming people. Key areas of this order implement discriminatory practices, such as requiring all identification on any government-issued documents to identify people based on their “biological sex,” and ordering all federal agencies to remove forms referring to sex and gender in any manner that does not align with the White House’s definition. The order also forbids federal funds from “promoting gender ideology” and prohibits gender-affirming healthcare to prisoners.
The lawsuit also takes aim at executive order 14151, “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” and order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which significantly impacts diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs for private sector employers and the federal government. LGBTQ+ people, people of color, women, and other marginalized groups could face discrimination when it comes to fair treatment, pay equity, and advancement opportunities.
The non-profit organizations involved in the lawsuit include San Francisco Aids Foundation, Los Angeles LGBT Center, San Francisco Community Health Center, GLBT Historical Society, Baltimore Safe Haven, Prisma Community Care, FORGE, and the NYC LGBT Community Center.
“The NYC LGBT Community Center has been a lifeline for the entire LGBTQ+ community for 42 years, especially those who face systemic barriers to safety, healthcare, community connections, and opportunity,” Dr. Carla Smith, Chief Executive Officer of The Center, said in a statement. “We joined this lawsuit because these executive orders threaten the vital services we provide to one of the nation’s largest and most diverse LGBTQ+ communities and are an affront to us all. We will not allow the erasure of transgender people. The Center is clear: We will fight to ensure every transgender person and every member of our community knows they are seen, valued, and supported.”
Related: Utah Governor Bans Transgender Students From Dorms Matching Their Gender Identity
Lambda Legal filed two additional lawsuits in early February. The first lawsuit, on behalf of the National Urban League, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, claimed three of Trump’s executive orders violated the organizations’ rights to free speech and engaged in intentional discrimination. The second lawsuit in collaboration with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation challenged the administration’s ban on military service of transgender individuals. In 2020, they challenged the Trump administration’s “Death to Asylum” rule on behalf of Immigration Equality, Oasis Legal Services, The TransLatin@ Coalition, Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project, and Transgender Law Center.
