Skip to Content

New Trump executive order could spark gay rights media storm

Another executive in the pipeline by president Donald Trump, could unleash a greater mainstream media storm than his immigration order ban on terror-linked Muslim countries.

Published: February 3, 2017, 12:00 pm

    Read more

    The draft of an executive order circulating in the Trump administration would dramatically expand the legal standing of religious groups and individuals, the Wall Street Journal reported.

    The order titled “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom” could lead to the denial of services to gay and transgender people, and contraception coverage for employees.

    It is aimed at conservative Christian voters who want to see their expanded influence in public life. According to the WSJ, the draft order instructs federal agencies to “avoid potential violations of Religious Freedom”, instructing officials not to coerce religious entities or individuals into “participating in activities that violate their conscience”.

    Signing such an order would unleash unprecedented rage over gay and reproductive rights, and transgender’s use of bathrooms. Corporations and sports leagues have already sided with gender advocacy groups, threatening to cancel events over legislation viewed as discriminatory.

    But Trump’s initiative could effectively gut many existing protections for the LGBT community as religious objections may render their allegations of discrimination obsolete.

    While speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning, Trump reiterated his commitment to expanding the role of faith in the public square, vowing to repeal the Johnson Amendment that bars churches from political activity. Those deemed in violation, risk losing their tax-exempt status. “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution,” Trump told his audience.

    Catholic hospitals in the US are required to provide hormone therapy or hysterectomies to transgender people by law. “Many Americans voted for Donald Trump based on concerns about what the other candidate might do with regard to religious liberty,” said Greg Baylor, a lawyer with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal organisation.

    “This is conceptually in keeping with what I anticipate from this administration,” Tony Perkins, founder of the Family Research Council, a conservative advocacy group, said of the draft order. “We’ve seen policies in the last eight years that have sought to marginalize and intimidate people of orthodox Christian faith. This simply says the government can’t bully you. The IRS can’t be used to silence you.”

    But pro-gay groups were furious. “If the White House did even a fraction of the things that are in this draft executive order, that would be an unprecedented rollback of LGBT equality and rights,” David Stacy, director of government affairs for the Human Rights Campaign told the WSJ. “This would provide a blanket exemption for religious organisations not to have to follow any statute that they say violates their religious beliefs.”

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    Americas

    Ohio disaster: When hedge funds manage rail traffic

    East PalestineAfter the derailment of a freight train loaded with highly toxic chemicals in the US state of Ohio, a devastating environmental catastrophe may now be imminent. The wagons burned for days, and a "controlled" explosion by the authorities released dangerous gases into the environment.

    US President Biden orders ‘spy’ balloon to be shot down

    WashingtonThe US President gave the order to shoot down China's "spy balloon". The balloon had caused US Secretary of State Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing. In the meantime, a second balloon was sighted.

    US is heading for a financial ‘catastrophe’ US Treasury Secretary warns

    WashingtonOn January 19, 2023, the United States hit its debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion. The country faces a recession if it defaults on its debt, the US Treasury Secretary warned in an interview. Her warning underscored the danger of printing money.

    Gun violence: More risk in Chicago and Philadelphia than Iraq, Afghanistan

    Providence, Rhode IslandA striking statistic: young Americans are several times more likely to be injured by a gun in cities like Chicago and Philadelphia than they are while serving as a soldier in a foreign country.

    Elon Musk, the first person in history to destroy $200 billion in a year

    Never before in human history has a person lost as much money in one year as Elon Musk did in 2022. The Tesla and Twitter boss lost $200 billion last year. However, with his remaining $137 billion, he is still the second richest person in the world.

    Extreme cold and winter storms sweep across US

    More than a million households without electricity, thousands of canceled flights, temperatures in the double-digit minus range and already 41 fatalities: The US is being overwhelmed by an enormous cold wave.

    Soros sponsors violent leftists and anti-police lobby as US crime surges

    WashingtonThe mega-speculator and "philanthropist" George Soros remains true to himself – he has been sponsoring anti-police left-wing groups with billions of dollars.

    FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested after crypto billions go missing

    NassauHe is no longer sitting in his fancy penthouse, but in a cell in the Bahamas: Sam Bankman-Fried (30), founder of the crypto company FTX, is said to be responsible for the theft of 37 billion euros. An interesting fact is that media in the EU have so far kept this crime thriller almost completely secret.

    How Twitter helped Biden win the US presidency

    WashingtonThe short message service Twitter massively influenced the US presidential election campaign two years ago in favor of the then candidate Joe Biden. The then incumbent Donald Trump ultimately lost the election. Internal e-mails that the new owner, Elon Musk, has now published on the short message service show how censorship worked on Twitter. The 51-year-old called it the “Twitter files”.

    Alberta PM suspends cooperation with WEF

    EdmontonThe newly elected Premier Danielle Smith of the province of Alberta in Canada has recently made several powerful statements against the globalist foundation World Economic Forum and its leader Klaus Schwab. She has also decided to cancel a strange consulting agreement that WEF had with the state.

    Go to archive