A win for the LGBTQ+ community: a federal judge in California has blocked the Trump Administration from enforcing anti-diversity and anti-transgender executive orders. In the lawsuit filed by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and several other nonprofit organizations, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar cites three of President Trump’s executive orders, Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, and Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, as unconstitutional.
Since the start of his term, President Trump has been fulfilling his campaign promises by methodically signing executive orders. During his first week in office, he signed 37 executive orders and with the assistance of the then head of D.O.G.E., Elon Musk, slashed funding and grants for multitudes of federal agencies. Since then, the Trump Administration has been working on rescinding federal grants from a number of other entities. Washington State’s own Washington Space Grant Foundation recently cancelled their Summer Undergraduate Research Program due to funding issues caused by Trump Administration policies.
Judge Tigar’s ruling that the Trump Administration cannot block grants to LGBTQ+ groups is a breath of fresh air for a community who has been consistently fielding attacks since inauguration day. The second Trump presidency has only emboldened groups who harbor hateful rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community. Recently, members of the Christian group Mayday USA hosted an event at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle. This event sparked counter protests by activists, many of whom felt that the city’s decision to allow anti LGBTQ+ activity in a neighborhood that holds historical LGBTQ+ significance was a grave misstep.
It was not until 2015 that same-sex couples were able to enjoy the same martial rights and privileges as opposite-sex couples in all 50 states. The resurgence of hatred for the “other” is a worrying trend that is rearing its ugly head in the American political arena. Where the rights of one minority group are under attack, others are lined up like dominoes, waiting to fall. Rulings like Judge Tigar’s proffer hope that persistent action is a viable path to resisting unconstitutional actions by the Trump Administration.
