{"slug":"trump-first-term-lgbtq-rights-attacks","title":"First-Term LGBTQ Rollbacks: Transgender Military Ban, Healthcare Protections, Bathroom Guidance","date":"2017-02-22","lastUpdated":"2020-06-15","description":"The Trump administration implemented a systematic rollback of LGBTQ protections over four years: rescinding Obama-era guidance protecting transgender students (February 2017), announcing a transgender military ban via tweet (July 2017), rolling back healthcare anti-discrimination protections, and overturning regulations protecting LGBTQ workers. The Supreme Court's June 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County found that Title VII prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity — a ruling the Trump administration had opposed with briefs arguing the opposite position.","summary":"Trump's first executive actions on LGBTQ issues included rescinding a 2016 guidance protecting transgender students' bathroom access in public schools. In July 2017, Trump tweeted the military ban without notifying the Joint Chiefs; the tweet came after DOD had already been studying how to implement transgender service. The administration also reversed Obama-era healthcare anti-discrimination guidance, removed LGBTQ survey questions from the Census and government surveys, and reversed protections for LGBTQ workers in federal contracting. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in June 2020 that Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination covers LGBTQ workers.","category":"civil-rights","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/us/politics/trump-transgender-military.html","title":"Trump Declares That He Will Bar Transgender People From Military Service","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/02/22/trump-administration-rescinds-obama-transgender-bathroom-guidance/","title":"Trump administration rescinds Obama transgender bathroom guidance","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-transgender-military-ban-lgbtq","title":"Timeline: Trump's actions on LGBTQ issues","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf","title":"Bostock v. Clayton County — Title VII covers sexual orientation and gender identity","publisher":"U.S. Supreme Court"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["LGBTQ","transgender","military-ban","civil-rights","first-term","bathroom-guidance"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-02-22","title":"Transgender bathroom guidance rescinded","summary":"The Trump administration issues guidance rescinding the Obama-era interpretation of Title IX that required public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity."},{"date":"2017-07-26","title":"Trump tweets transgender military ban","summary":"Trump announces via Twitter that transgender individuals will not be permitted to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military. The Joint Chiefs are not notified; the DOD is not consulted; Secretary Mattis learns of the ban from the tweets."},{"date":"2019-04-12","title":"Revised transgender ban takes effect","summary":"After initial court blocks, a revised version of the transgender military ban takes effect, requiring transgender service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria to either serve in their birth sex or be discharged."},{"date":"2020-06-12","title":"HHS rolls back transgender healthcare protections","summary":"The Trump administration finalizes a rule eliminating Obama-era healthcare anti-discrimination protections for transgender patients under ACA Section 1557."},{"date":"2020-06-15","title":"Supreme Court rules Title VII covers LGBTQ workers","summary":"The Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Bostock that Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination covers sexual orientation and gender identity — a direct repudiation of the Trump administration's legal position. Justice Gorsuch writes the majority opinion."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 26","provision":"Non-discrimination — all persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law; systematic rollback of LGBTQ protections raises Article 26 concerns"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Transgender service members who were discharged or barred from enlisting; LGBTQ individuals who lost healthcare anti-discrimination protections; transgender students whose school protections were rescinded","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; directed systematic rollback of LGBTQ protections","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-06-15","summary":"Updated with Bostock ruling."}]}}