A Trump presidency

[Michelle_P]

I'm abandoning my official name change as the court backup is too long, and will be pushing to just get the gender marker changed on my license and passport so I can travel a little more safely.

Losing insurance coverage (I AM a pre-existing condition) is the biggest impact I face outside of the rising social hostility.  (You DO NOT want to see my mail in-box this morning.  Looks like I picked the wrong year to come out, and letting the membership of a club I'm president of know about me as of yesterday has some members a little bit excited.)

Being a political target sort of sucks.

[Susan]

Been celebrating since they called Pennsylvania, I pray he lives up to what he said...Goodbye Obamacare and all the executive orders done without approval of congress and goodbye unfair trade. Time to heal this country.

You do know that as the leader of the executive branch, the president has the power to issue executive orders. The presidency is a separate but equal branch of government. Congress makes laws, and one of the duties of the executive branch is to enforce them. That means he does not need approval from Congress for his management of the executive branch including how to interpret the laws and policies made by Congress that he is charged with enforcing. Congress is always free to take any complaints with any action by the presidency to the supreme court and allow them to rule if that action was constitutional or not.

Since I'm poor and I haven't done anything more than HRT yet, this pretty much ruined all hope I had of getting any further with transitioning. Mike Pence will make sure of that.

I think a lot of people are going overboard right now, and it doesn't help anyone. Lets concentrate on how to defend and continue to expand GLBT rights, protect our civil liberties, and continue to push our government to move forward not back.

I am absolutely terrified and sick to my stomach. I haven't even started HRT yet. Now I feel like there is no hope for me to do anything.

The courts have ruled that you have a inherent right to control your body, so they can't stop you from transitioning. The most they can do is to try to throw obstacles in our paths but we worked though all the ones put in our way so far,  and we will continue to work around any new ones.

[SadieBlake]

The SOUTH really pulled this one out!! While 'evangelical christens' are not my fav people to hang out with almost 90% went unanimously  for TRUMP!! As a tandem driver running around Atlanta all week long huge crowds with banners were present at just about every polling spot I came across!

No, Michigan and Wisconsin delivered this election. Outside of Fla none of the south was any more in question than the blue states in the Northeast and CA etc in the West.

[big kim]

That'll teach you to laugh at us Brits for having Boris Johnson for foreign secretary! I think Boris can walk& chew gum at the same time not so sure about your new prez!

[RobynD]

Mr. Trump was elected mostly by 45+ year old white males if you look at the demographics. Evangelical Christians and White Catholics if you want to dice it up by faith. Those demographic analysis's are by nature generalities of course. 45+ yr old white males are no less a legitimate piece of the electoral stakeholders than anyone else of course. The increase in Latino vote although important, (Democrats won Nevada ...wow) was either not enough in some states and/or not in the right places for the electoral votes.

Minorities, women, young men and pretty much everyone else voted in the majority for the democratic candidate. Less whites voted for Clinton than Obama. (draw your own conclusions on that ) The good for many of the rest of us is that demographics favor liberalism as time goes on. This is really always been the case, but the definition of what is liberal has been continuing to change.

It helps to look at the data on all of this separate from the emotion. For those of you that are scared in the more red areas of the country, i encourage you to think about moving to places like my state of Oregon. We elected the first openly LGTBQi Governor!! Yay!. Protections will remain pretty good here no matter what happens and there is less chance of bigotry or hate crimes.

Get roused up and take action for equality. The fight moves on to the next phase.

[Christy82]

I'm terrified.  I don't have money to get my named changed, or even a passport.  I just hope that there is not too much damage done.  It would take too long to undo it.

[Joelene9]

I wasn't a fan of either of the main candidates as with the majority of people I know. Both candidates were a bit foggy for transgender rights only adding the "T" in LGBT in their speeches. We shall see after January.

  I did hold up my promise mentioned on the Activism and Politics about a year ago by not electing a Clinton nor a Bush. I am tired of dynasties.   

Joelene

[Susan]

  I did hold up my promise mentioned on the Activism and Politics about a year ago by not electing a Clinton nor a Bush. I am tired of dynasties.

I agree we have over 300,000,000 Americans in this country we don't need to keep turning to the same 5-10 families.

[EmilyMK03]

I wasn't a fan of either of the main candidates as with the majority of people I know. Both candidates were a bit foggy for transgender rights only adding the "T" in LGBT in their speeches.

Did you know that during Hillary's tenure as Secretary of State, the State Department, for the first time ever, allowed transgender people to change the gender on their passports WITHOUT requiring surgery?  Since then, you only need a letter from your doctor.  I'd say that's a significant advancement in transgender rights, and it's thanks to Clinton. 

But a lot of people don't know that.  And that rule could easily get rolled back under a Republican presidency.  Sooo many people don't realize how much good work Hillary did, because they didn't  actually do their research.

[SophieD]

Did you know that during Hillary's tenure as Secretary of State, the State Department, for the first time ever, allowed transgender people to change the gender on their passports WITHOUT requiring surgery?  Since then, you only need a letter from your doctor.  I'd say that's a significant advancement in transgender rights, and it's thanks to Clinton. 

This is true, and much more.  I work at the State Department, and I am grateful for some great things that happened during her tenure as Secretary.  State was among the first federal agencies to secure health insurance benefits for its transgendered employees, and she pushed relentlessly for foreign countries to accept same sex partners of our diplomats, then same sex spouses, and transgendered employees as well.  She championed LGBTQIA rights as a front-and-center component of our foreign policy.  She ensured equitable treatment of transgendered folks within her Department.  There was nothing equivocal about her support.

[Raell]

Trump is different than most Republicans in that he often seems to embrace the gay agenda.

He wrote enthusiastically on his blog about Elton John's 2005 marriage to his boyfriend David Furnish.
This April he said on NBC's Today show that he opposed the North Carolina bathroom bill.
He said in a 2000 interview he was in favor of amending the Civil Rights Act to include a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation.
He attended a gay marriage in 2012, and had lunch with George Takei where they discussed gay marriage laws.

He also waved a gay pride rainbow flag at a Colorado rally on Oct. 30.

However he has been giving mixed signals, since when he was speaking to evangelicals, he promised he would "consider" appointing a judge who would repeal marriage equality and permit religious homophobic discrimination.

He has said since 2000 that marriage is between a man and a woman, so he could throw the LGBTQ community under the bus if he decides to increase Republican cooperation.

Mike Pence has constantly fought all attempts to extend LGBTQ freedoms, and said that he would dismantle LGBTQ protections.

We can still hope Trump won't do that, since he has been bragging he would be a huge supporter of gay rights.

[Deborah]

Whether or not Trump likes us or not really isn't the issue.  The issue is whether or not he will defy a Republican Congress largely made up of men whose worldview is shaped by magical thinking and a superstition that casts us as an enemy and a threat to prosperity.  Will he veto their inevitable anti LGBT amendments and support the Democrats? 

Only more magical thinking might suggest that he will do that.

And as stated above, the likely damage he and his magical minions will do to everything else will pale the LGBT issues in significance.

I almost pity the Trump voters who are about to be run over by a freight train sized dose of reality!


It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
André Gide, Autumn Leaves

[Deborah]

And it begins.

Anti-gay Ken Blackwell takes key domestic policy role in Trump's transition team

By Stephanie Gerdes

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/ken-blackwell-trump-transition-team/#gs.TqixVFo

Donald Trump has given an anti-gay religious right-wing activist a lead role in his transition team.

John Kenneth 'Ken' Blackwell, Ohio's former Secretary of State, will head up the team's work on domestic issues.

In a 2006 interview, he compared gay people to kleptomaniacs and arsonists. . . .

'I think it is a transgression against God's law, God's will.' . . .


It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
André Gide, Autumn Leaves

[warlockmaker]

Quote

There will obviously be no civil war over this. Demonstrations are a right conferred by the Constitution. The lgbt movement became visible at the Compton and Stonewall riots, but it's  existed in various forms long before that.

I wrote this before I saw CNN riots in Portland and Los Angles. The police called it anarchy regarding the vandalism of property.

The right to protest is in the  constitution BUT so is the right to bear arms. You american have a saying whats good for one side is evil to the other. The situation in Thailand under a good military government is what has kept the peace and prevented a civil war from a democracy with parties akin to the democrats and republicans. Yet the USA insulted the present government without understanding the  cultural situation. Sadly now with the violent protests in the USA, a threat of civil war maybe a reality, contrary to what you adamantly deny. Are you aware that the right to protest is given to Asian democracy but only with a permit. We are losing confidence that democracy works and we sure no longer want a violent democracy. Both sides are racist, both sides have instigated violence.  How can Obama and Hillary not come out strongly against this violence. You who the world looked up to, we are in mourning as you are the measure of a democracy's success.Yet all we see is a failed system.

[Tessa James]

Mr. Trump was elected mostly by 45+ year old white males if you look at the demographics. Evangelical Christians and White Catholics if you want to dice it up by faith. Those demographic analysis's are by nature generalities of course. 45+ yr old white males are no less a legitimate piece of the electoral stakeholders than anyone else of course. The increase in Latino vote although important, (Democrats won Nevada ...wow) was either not enough in some states and/or not in the right places for the electoral votes.

Minorities, women, young men and pretty much everyone else voted in the majority for the democratic candidate. Less whites voted for Clinton than Obama. (draw your own conclusions on that ) The good for many of the rest of us is that demographics favor liberalism as time goes on. This is really always been the case, but the definition of what is liberal has been continuing to change.

It helps to look at the data on all of this separate from the emotion. For those of you that are scared in the more red areas of the country, i encourage you to think about moving to places like my state of Oregon. We elected the first openly LGTBQi Governor!! Yay!. Protections will remain pretty good here no matter what happens and there is less chance of bigotry or hate crimes.

Get roused up and take action for equality. The fight moves on to the next phase.

You are right on sister!  I do not fear trump but feel concerned about those emboldened by his bigotry.  The pendulum will swing again as the demographics inexorably favor a multicultural reality.  Racism and sexism do play a role in our elections that suggest we have work to do....

Once gain it is time to think globally and act locally.  Yesterday another trans activist and I presented at St Vincent in Portland where we were met with reasonable questions, support and acceptance.  Love those hugs.  We with love will prevail and continue to build a progressive community that care and shares.

Yes, move to the west and perhaps Ecotopia will rise more formally

[Susan]

This topic is done. You are free to discuss the implications for the Transgender Community under a Trump presidency, make sure that you base any discussion on words and actions, and not hyperbole. Other good topics include discussing worthy organizations we as a community can and/or should support that will work to protect and expand GLBT rights during the next 4 years.

Again the politics rule is still in effect, and will be until those still grieving over the results of this election come to terms with it, and regain a modicum of rationality.