Trump administration purges LGBT rights section from White House website
The Trump administration has taken control, immediately deleting all mention of LGBT rights from the White House website.
As Donald Trump and Mike Pence were sworn in today, a mostly-seamless transition took place online, with the new administration taking control of the official Presidential media channels.
But amid the exchanges of Twitter account handles and Facebook profiles, the official White House website has also been relaunched reflecting the new administration’s agenda.
However, activists have noticed one glaring omission: the section on LGBT rights has been entirely deleted.
President Obama’s administration had maintained a now-deleted website area for engagement with the LGBT community, including a regularly-updated blog detailing policy commitments, and details about the White House’s LGBT work.
It stated: “President Obama is committed to working with all Americans to create the brightest future for our country through innovation, education and building new technologies and more connected communities.
“Since taking office, the President has demonstrated that his vision for a brighter future includes greater equality for LGBT Americans. The President and his Administration are dedicated to eliminating barriers to equality, fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and engaging LGBT communities across the country.”
Rather than be replaced with details of Trump’s policies, the LGBT section has simply been deleted – along with other sections including climate change and women’s rights.
Despite months of planning for the transition, the Trump administration’s relaunched website has just seven issue sections – America First Energy Plan, America First Foreign Policy, Bringing Back Jobs And Growth, Making Our Military Strong Again, Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community, and Trade Deals Working For All Americans.
There is now no mention of LGBT issues anywhere on the White House website.
The new President has never released a policy plan on LGBT issues, and also has no policy plan on HIV/AIDS. He failed to detail policies on either issue during his election campaign.
One of the new President’s only direct policy pledges it to sign the Republican-backed First Amendment Defence Act, a law that would permit forms of anti-LGBT discrimination on the grounds of religion.
