GLAAD urges the LGBTQ+ community to see the 2024 election result ‘as another catalyst for change’

Non-profit organisation GLAAD has urged the LGBTQ+ community to see Donald Trump’s re-election as “another catalyst for change” in the wake of the 2024 US election. 

President-Elect Trump won the US election, marking a return to the White House for himself and the Republican Party. 

Trump, who had already declared victory over Vice President Kamala Harris after being projected to win key swing states, had his victory confirmed when he surpassed 270 electoral college votes after being projected to win the state of Wisconsin.

Although Harris said herself that the outcome of the election was not what she and running mate Tim Walz hoped or fought for, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD is encouraging the queer community to use their pain to incite change. 

Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO for GLAAD, said on Wednesday (6 November) in a statement: “The LGBTQ community has been here before, as have all other marginalized communities, and the pain is real today. But as we saw from the Lavender Scare to the Stonewall Uprising, from the HIV epidemic to the defeat and victory for marriage, every breakdown can lead to a breakthrough. 

“We must see this moment of crisis as another catalyst for change.”

She added that the LGBTQ+ community “knows how to take care of each other, and how to push our country and world forward”.

Ellis continued: “The mission remains: Hold leaders accountable to We, the People. Empower each person to use their voice for progress with kindness. Correct the record. Shape culture. Change hearts and minds. Rise up for intersectional issues including racial justice, abortion and immigration.

“LGBTQ people belong and are essential to the promise of America as a beacon of equality and acceptance,” the statement concluded. 

Despite Trump’s grim outlook on LGBTQ+ rights, voters in the US election made history by electing the first out trans person in the US Congress, Sarah McBride. New Yorkers also voted to defend abortion and LGBTQ+ rights in the state, joining six other states in expanding abortion access. 

If this story has affected you, call the LGBT National Help Centre on 888 843 4564 Monday-Friday 1 pm-9 pm Pacific Time or 4 pm-Midnight Eastern Time or on Saturdays 9 am-2 pm Pacific Time or Noon-5 pm Eastern Time.