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From left: U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint
The No Place for LGBTQ+ Hate Act targets the trans military ban, the "two sexes" order, and more.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont, both Democrats, have introduced legislation to nullify Donald Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders.
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The No Place for LGBTQ+ Hate Act, introduced Thursday, would ensure that Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ orders would have no force or effect and that no federal funds would be used to put them into effect.
During his second term, Trump has issued executive orders saying the federal government will recognize only two sexes, male and female as assigned at birth, therefore denying the existence of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people; reinstating and expanding the trans military ban; seeking to prevent trans youth from receiving gender-affirming care; seeking to keep trans students from participating in sports under their gender identity; and requiring schools to deny the existence of trans people. Policies based on these orders have been implemented, and most are being challenged in court.
“Freedom is the right to safely live as your authentic self without fear of harassment, discrimination, or violence,” Merkley said in a press release. “President Trump and Republicans are attacking our LGBTQ+ neighbors, friends, and family members by rubberstamping discrimination in every aspect of daily life. As we mark Pride Month this year, we say ‘hell no’ to this hate and honor those who have fought for LGBTQ+ equality by never giving up on the vision of America as a land of freedom for all.”
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“Trump cannot take away our rights or our health care just with the stroke of a pen,” Balint added. “I’m standing with Senator Merkley and my colleagues to show the Trump administration that their hate and dehumanizing rhetoric targeting queer Americans doesn’t intimidate us. We won’t back down when it comes to protecting our rights. No matter how much they try to erase us and our history, LGBTQI+ people are valued members of every community across this country.”
Their bill has numerous cosponsors in both the House and Senate, all Democrats except for one independent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats. It’s endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, Advocates for Trans Equality, American Civil Liberties Union, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Reproductive Freedom for All, and Planned Parenthood.
“LGBTQ+ people, including transgender people, live and work in every community. They serve in Congress, run companies, protect our country, and build families,” HRC Director of Government Affairs Jennifer Pike Bailey said in the release. “That means LGBTQ+ people deserve the same dignity and respect as everyone else. But the Trump-Vance Administration has launched an unrelenting assault on LGBTQ+ lives, issuing one executive action after another aimed at making it harder to see a doctor, go to school, and live life openly. Thank you to Senator Merkley and Congresswoman Balint for pushing back and declaring that this should be a country where freedom truly exists for all.”
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“From day one, this administration has conspired to encourage and promote policies designed not simply to strip trans and intersex people of critical civil rights protections, but to push them out of nearly all sectors of public life,” said Sinead Murano-Kinney, Advocates for Trans Equality health policy analyst. From our jobs, schools, and access to medically necessary care to the use of public accommodations and participation in sports, the Trump Administration has sought to deny the existence of trans, nonbinary, and intersex people and to dehumanize us.”
“These actions by President Trump are baseless and lawless, far exceeding his powers and threatening the freedom and lives of transgender people across the country,” said ACLU Senior Legislative Advocate Ian Thompson.”This administration has made clear their goal is pushing transgender people out of public life entirely, and his executive orders have threatened their rights as workers, as patients, and as citizens. We are thankful for the leadership of Senator Merkley and Representative Balint in introducing this measure and we will continue to demand accountability for this administration and their dangerous, unconstitutional actions towards LGBTQ people.”
“This bill is a vital step in defending the rights, dignity, and safety of transgender people, who have again and again been maliciously targeted by the Trump administration’s discriminatory executive orders,” said Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund. “These orders are rooted not in facts or fairness, but in fearmongering and bigotry. We refuse to let trans people be scapegoated by the administration’s campaign to erase their identities, deny them lifesaving health care, and push them out of schools, sports, and public life. We will always fight back against this lawless cruelty and recognize that these attacks both deeply harm trans people and threaten the rights and safety of all women and girls.”
