President Trump to Sign Religious Freedom Executive Order Allowing for Discrimination Against LGBTIQ People

May 4, 2017 - President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign an Executive Order titled, "Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom," as early as today. If signed, the Executive Order would allow for discrimination against the LGBTIQ community, among others, providing a religious or moral objection. A first draft of the bill was leaked on February 1st and was tabled after public outcry and pushback. It is understood that Vice President Pence has since continued to lobby for the adoption of a revised version of the religious exemption bill. If signed, this Executive Order would override President Obama's 2014 Executive Order which protects federal employees against LGBTIQ-based discrimination. The White House has not announced details of the order or when it will be signed.

Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, commented on the pending bill, saying,

"Governments around the world try to excuse persecution of minorities - including LGBTIQ people - with religious beliefs. It is no more right in the United States than anywhere else. Discrimination is discrimination regardless of how it is justified."

Religious organizations, a term loosely defined, and individuals can claim religious freedom, "when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with Federal, State or local governments."

The Executive Order would allow for discrimination of LGBTIQ people in a number of ways:

• Allowing individuals and establishments to refuse services to same-sex couples or their children.
• Giving leeway for federal employees to refuse to process marriage registrations of same-sex couples.
• Denying the recognition of an individual's gender identity and protecting the standing of any organization that believes biological sex is immutable at birth.
• Allowing federally funded adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples.

Stern continued,

"We know too well that these kinds of divisive policies risk becoming an excuse for persecution and maybe even violence against LGBTIQ people, especially when individuals feel emboldened to express their homophobic and transphobic beliefs. Religion should not be a state-sanctioned excuse for discrimination."

Every day around the world, LGBTIQ people's human rights and dignity are abused in ways that shock the conscience. The stories of their struggles and their resilience are astounding, yet remain unknown—or willfully ignored—by those with the power to make change. OutRight Action International, founded in 1990 as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, works alongside LGBTIQ people in the Global South, with offices in six countries, to help identify community-focused solutions to promote policy for lasting change. We vigilantly monitor and document human rights abuses to spur action when they occur. We train partners to expose abuses and advocate for themselves. Headquartered in New York City, OutRight is the only global LGBTIQ-specific organization with a permanent presence at the United Nations in New York that advocates for human rights progress for LGBTIQ people.