The former Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, Caitlyn Jenner, announced that she no longer supports Donald Trump on October 26, 2018. Ms. Jenner, a transgender rights activists, now supports that Trump does not support those of the LGBTQ+ community. Prior to the administrations memo leak Ms. Jenner did not realize that Trump did not have transgender rights in mind. According to the Washington Post, the current administration is moving to legally define gender. This legal definition may apply to federal programs such as education and health care. The New York Times report on the administration’s direction, is that it defined “transgender people out of existence.” The Department of Health and Human Services, this legal definition will be made under Title IX. Title IX prohibits gender discrimination by educational institutions and programs that receive government funds. The definition offered by the memo is that gender is explained by “a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.”This new definition only allows for male or female sex categories. A child is assigned to a category at birth based on their genitalia. The memo suggests that if a dispute arises over a person’s gender, only their birth certificate and genetic testing may be available for relevant evidence.
The memo suggests th at Americans who recognize themselves as a different gender than that assigned at birth, are unable to do so. Based on the past two years, the current administration is taking steps to erase the LGBTQ+ community. Only two hours after his swearing in, Trump removed all LGBTQ+ issues from the official White House website. Three days later, January 23, 2017, the new administration removed John Kerry’s apology for the “Lavender Scare” from the official website as well. The administration ensured that all information on pride month and the State Department’s Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQ Person were made unavailable to the public. Trump not only nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, but he took on Jess Sessions as the U.S. Attorney General. Both Justice Gorsuch and Session are openly against the LGBTQ+ community.
Both Ms. Jenner and Jazz Jennings, a transgender reality TV star and activist, are against Trumps decision. Ms. Jennings is publicly speaking out on the consideration to define gender as a biological condition. With Ms. Jenner’s decision to renounce Trump and current reality TV star, Ms. Jennings, there is hope for push-back against this memo. The administration’s attempt to legally define a person’s gender at birth may be heavily contested if implemented.
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Sources:
https://www.hrc.org/timelines/trump
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