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Tweeting for Pride

By Nancy Ford

Good news, dear WAW readers! Dear Leader — uh, I mean, President Donald Trump has apparently had a reversal of conscience when it comes to equality for LGBT citizens! On May 31, in between his tweets promoting Fox News and digitally screaming “NO COLLUSION! NO OBSTRUCTION!â€, Trump tossed out this astonishing announcement:

“As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals…. ….on the basis of their sexual orientation. My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!â€

I know! He likes us, he really likes us!

Or maybe not so much. 

Basically, what the president is saying here is that, yes, even though his administration and the conservative elected officials that follow him have done more to undermine equality for non-heterosexuals than any other U.S. administration in modern history, at least we queer folk are not being beheaded or thrown to our deaths off tall, tall buildings, like they are in other countries where Trump is fond of doing business. (Saudi Arabia, we’re looking at you.) 

And don’t forget, the Trump name adorns many tall, tall buildings, so yeah, it would be real easy for him to get rooftop access. 

What a humanitarian.

This “global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality,†Trump is twalking about here, you may remember, refers back to last February when U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who is actually openly gay, announced this initiative, an initiative which is rather narrow in scope. It’s like saying to the gay community, “OK, we’re not going to kill you. But we’re not going to make it particularly easy for you to live, either.â€

One day after Ambassador Grenell’s announcement, Trump was pressed by the press for details about this global campaign. 

“I don’t know which report you’re talking about. We have many reports,†he said, gently stroking the head of his voter base as it sat on his lap and purred.

So yeah, there’s that.

But back to this presidential Pride tweet. To absolutely no one’s surprise, the Log Cabin Republican former president Gregory T. Angelo sweet-tweeted, “Been waiting all my life for a Republican to show this kind of leadership. THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!†

Meanwhile…

In April, a policy went into effect demanding that U.S. troops and recruits must use uniforms, pronouns, sleeping quarters, and bathroom facilities for their biological sex, regardless if they identify as transgender. But thanks for volunteering to risk your lives in service your country. 

Then, just last month, the Trump Administration formally moved to roll back regulations introduced in the Obama Administration that were designed to protect transgender medical patients and health insurance consumers. So good luck if your appendix bursts, transgender friends.

Also last year, Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (headed by Secretary Alex Azur, a former pharmaceutical lobbyist) circulated a memo that sought to define gender as a “biological, immutable condition†determined by the genitalia they were born with. 

And let’s not forget about Trump’s picks to wear the black robes as Justices on the Supreme Court of the United States. Don’t expect Justices Gorsuch or Kavanaugh to rule favorably as SCOTUS examines the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Please stay healthy, Judge Ruth.

And then there’s that “religious liberty†thing that Trump loves to talk about in his pep rallies. You know, the gem that would allow people who believe God doesn’t want them to sell a cake for a same-sex wedding because, you know, sin and Sodom and Gomorrah. OK, whatever; wedding cakes that don’t call for hate in the recipe taste better, anyway. Things get a little dicier, though, when it becomes legal for landlords and bankers and doctors and hospitals to also play the God card, and choose not to do business with or medically treat LGBTQ families. Thanks, Evangelicals.

The anti-gay “leadership†list goes on.

So this month as our community celebrates Pride with all its accompanying hoopla, parties, and parades, it serves us well to remember that this month also marks the 50thanniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. The queers in that seedy little New York bar decided they’d suffered enough oppression and discrimination and violence, lit a match, and the movement for our equality was aflame. 

The best way to honor those rioting queers’ courage and sacrifice is, yes, to party and parade, and be proud. 

But then, register and vote, so that in another 50 years, everyone will shake their heads and wonder what all the queer fuss was about.Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the MONTROSE STAR.

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