Leaked draft of ‘License to Discriminate Executive Order’ raises concerns

Multiple media outlets have reported about a leaked “License to Discriminate Executive Order” that is being prepared by Donald Trump’s White House, less than 48 hours after they claimed to be supportive of the LGBTQ community. The leaked order — which would allow an unprecedented expansion of taxpayer-funded discrimination that could have broad implications on LGBTQ people — would be a direct contradiction of claims made earlier in the week order that Donald Trump would be an ally to the LGBTQ community.

According to The Nation, the draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it seeks to curtail women’s access to contraception and abortion through the Affordable Care Act.

HRC has been raising concerns throughout the week and the White House may now be poised to move us backward. On Tuesday, HRC President Chad Griffin and other civil rights leaders gathered to warn against the threat of such an order.

“The leaked draft of Donald Trump’s License to Discriminate order is sweeping and dangerous. It reads like a wishlist from some of the most radical anti-equality activists, ” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “If true, it seems this White House is poised to wildly expand anti-LGBTQ discrimination across all facets of the government — even if he does maintain the Obama EO. If Donald Trump goes through with even a fraction of this order, he’ll reveal himself as a true enemy to LGBTQ people. We’ve already seen that the Trump administration is willing to go after women, immigrants, people of color, and most frighteningly, people who disagree with him. If this version is true this could represent another chilling attempt to go after LGBTQ people, federal employees, employees of federal contractors, and people served by federal programs funded with taxpayer dollars. The impacts extend to anybody in the LGBTQ community, women, minority religious communities and others. Let’s make one thing clear: the Human Rights Campaign will fight tooth-and-nail to protect the LGBTQ community, and protect its members from discrimination.”