CLOSE

LGBTQ rights have come a long way in the U.S. But the community still faces threats in the form of legalization, discrimination and even violence.

USA TODAY

Workplace discrimination While Democrats take the lesbian and gay community for granted, Donald Trump’s Republican Party is delivering real results.

Democrats are using their convention this week to tout their agenda for the next four years, including their promise to stand up for the lesbian and gay community. For years, Democratic Party leaders have taken for granted the lesbian and gay community — along with other minority communities — thinking they had no where else to turn. Those days are over. 

I’ve fought for civil rights for gay Americans for the past four decades. Today, the Republican Party is delivering real results and leadership for our community:

It hasn’t always been this way. For years, the GOP generally stood against the inclusion of gay and lesbian conservatives. As one of the Republican National Committee’s first openly gay members, and a longtime leader of Log Cabin Republicans, I’ve worked tirelessly alongside many friends and colleagues to pull the party into the future. Today, thanks in large part to the leadership of President Donald Trump, the party has delivered meaningful policy victories for gays and lesbians. 

It should come as no surprise that Trump’s agenda has been a boon to the gay community. Through his philanthropic work over the years with charities combating the AIDS crisis, his previous support of amending the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, and his early support of gay couples having the same rights and protections as straight couples, Trump was an ally long before he was president. He is likely even the first private club owner in Palm Beach, Florida, to admit an openly gay couple.

He didn’t abandon these principles when he assumed his position behind the Resolute Desk. 

Workplace discrimination Working for LGBT Americans

In 2019, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc., would donate pre-exposure prophylaxis medication for uninsured, high-risk HIV individuals.

As part of the president’s “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America” initiative, this medication, which could run up to as much as $20,000 per patient, per year, would be distributed to up to 200,000 individuals each year through at least Dec. 31, 2025. 

The Trump plan is focused on communities most in need and has received support from those who have been involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In similar fashion, Trump announced during Pride Month in 2019 that his administration was launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality. His leadership on this issue couldn’t be more necessary — even in 2020, 72 countries still identify same-sexual orientation as criminal, including eight where it is punishable by death. 

This campaign was spearheaded by former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, an openly gay member of the administration who subsequently served as acting director of U.S. national intelligence, becoming the first openly gay Cabinet member in our history. In coordination with the United Nations, the European Union and other human rights organizations, the campaign’s goal is to pressure nations into ending homophobic laws, securing the safety and freedom of all LGBT individuals throughout the world.

Finally, a woman on the ticket: 100 years later, Kamala Harris nomination ends shameful racial history of suffrage movement

As the Trump administration continues important strides on the world stage, the victories at home continue as well.

Workplace discrimination Actions speak louder than words

Mary Rowland, a member of the Lesbian & Gay Bar Association of Chicago, was confirmed in 2019 as a federal district judge for the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois. Additionally, Trump pick Patrick Bumatay, an openly gay Filipino American judge, was confirmed to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit late last year. 

These accomplishments should not suggest the president’s work is finished.

Before being elected president, Donald Trump supported amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation; his administration’s resistance to protecting gay, lesbian and transgender employees from discrimination in the workplace in the recent Supreme Court case was thus disappointing. I’d also encourage the president to reconsider his stance on transgender men and women serving in the military.

In a second term, the president must work to resolve the ongoing tension between LGBT Americans’ justified demands for equality and the concerns of religious conservatives. He must work with Congress to correct the gaps in access to (and quality of) care faced by LGBT Americans.

Democratic convention: Trump makes politics exciting — but terrifying. Democrats bore — but govern.

America has come a long way in accepting the gay community, and though I’m proud of where we are, I know there is still more work to be done. As November approaches, it’s vital to elect someone who will continue this progress. That’s why in 2019,  Log Cabin Republicans, the nation’s largest organization of LGBT conservatives, endorsed President Donald Trump for reelection.

As Democrats spend the week declaring themselves the party of inclusivity, remember that actions speak louder than words. Today, the GOP has proved itself to be the true party of equality. 

Robert Kabel is the chairman of Log Cabin Republicans and author of “Inside and Out: The Odyssey of a Gay Conservative,” which will be published Sept. 14. Follow him on Twitter: @BobKabelDC

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/08/20/donald-trump-lgbtq-lgbt-gay-rights-republican-equality-column/5605491002/