Another Anti-LGBTQ Policy

President Donald Trump never fails to disappoint the LGBTQ community.  This time, he is considering an interpretation of Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans sex discrimination in federally funded schools, that “would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with.”  This would defy the scientific (and medical) evidence embraced by major organizations.

The HHS (Health and Human Services) is the primary agency working on the draft proposal, but other agencies (including departments of Education, Justice, and Labor) are expected to adopt it.  It’s not clear on when everything will happen, though, Times reported that HHS “is preparing to formally present the new definition to the Justice Department by the end of the year.”

Though this may seem far too obvious, this proposal would effectively erase protections for transgender people (people who identify with a gender different from the one assigned at birth).  Federal civil rights laws ensuring that the laws do not prohibit discrimination against transgender people in any setting (including schools, homes, workplaces, and healthcare).

This move would be far from the first time that the Trump administration has done something to hurt the LGBTQ community.  For the majority of the past couple of years, the administration has been mired in court battles over its attempts to ban trans people from the military after former President Obama’s administration lifted the original ban.  

LGBTQ civil rights protections generally prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  Specifically in workplaces, housing, schools, and public accommodations. But some states law does not cover public accommodations, meaning that it is not explicitly illegal for a person to be fired from a job, evicted from a home, or kicked out of businesses just because an employer or business owner doesn’t approve of the person’s sexual preference or gender identity.  

Though a lot of people may be completely fine with this, others are filled with anticipation for the next election, hoping for someone that will support the LGBTQ community more that Trump is right now.  What are some things that would work better than Trump’s rollback?