What does the U.S. election result mean for LGBTQ+ rights?

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Throughout his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump has made big promises on issues of enormous consequence to Americans, from the economy to reproductive health care — but offered few details on how he would see those promises through.

What he’s said in his campaign and what he did during his first term offer some clues, as does Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump term written by the conservative Heritage Foundation. Though Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, saying he has “no idea who is behind it” and that he has not read it, six of his former cabinet secretaries contributed to it in some form and much of what is in the 920-page document aligns directly with statements Trump has made this year.

LGBTQ+ community fearful of rights under Trump

Though there are still many unknowns, here is what we know so far about how a second Trump term will approach reproductive rights, the economy, education, immigration and aging & disability care and LGBTQ+ rights.

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Where does Harris’ VP pick Tim Walz stand on LGBTQ+ rights?

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Less than 24 hours after securing the nomination to be the Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris has announced her running mate: Minnesota governor Tim Walz.

In what continues to be a tight race, this has largely prompted the question “who is Tim Walz?” His full history ties together progressive talking points and a classic Midwestern upbringing. Democrats have immediately praised Harris’ selection of Tim Walz as her vice-presidential pick, citing everything from positive climate policies around emissions to codifying rights for abortion access in his state.

The other sign that he’s a positive choice comes from the Republican party’s immediate attacks. They’ve highlighted his “extremist far-left views” by highlighting… his exciting voting record that aims to make the country better. Generally, Tim Walz represents the future that Liberals want, and that image is supported by his history of backing queer identities both before and after entering the political space.

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U.S. house kills potential online censorship bill – for now

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Despite passing in the Senate earlier this week, the Kid’s Online Safety Act (KOSA) is reportedly dead in the U.S. House after progressives, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), worried that it would possible censor LGBTQ+ content. Some Republicans also opposed the bill, stating that it would violate free speech protections for social media platforms and their users.

KOSA would have mandated that social media companies take measures to prevent recommending any content that promotes mental health disorders (like eating disorders, drug use, self-harm, sexual abuse, and bullying) unless minors specifically search for such content.

Opponents worried that Republican attorneys general who see LGBTQ+ identities as harmful forms of mental illness would use KOSA’s provisions to censor queer web content and prosecute platforms that provide access to it.

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Christian families sue for the right to mistreat LGBTQ+ foster children

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Christian families in Vermont, alongside the Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group Alliance Defending Freedom, are suing the state after it stripped their foster care licenses over homophobic and transphobic beliefs.

“Vermont says they’re unfit to parent any child because of their traditional religious beliefs about human sexuality,” said ADF legal counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse in a press release. “Vermont seems to care little about the needs of vulnerable children, much less the constitutional rights of its citizens. That’s why we’re suing them in federal court.”

The Wuoti and Gantt families filed the lawsuit along with the ADF on Tuesday, initiating a formal complaint against the state. Vermont changed its policies regarding foster families in recent years to better support LGBTQ+ youth. It requires that foster parents are supportive of young people’s identities – such as properly gendering trans youth or allowing kids to embrace their sexual orientation.

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In states with anti-LGBTQ laws, school hate crimes quadrupled

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According to a new report, anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in K-12 schools have quadrupled in U.S. states that have laws restricting the rights of queer students.

A Washington Post analysis of FBI data on anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes taking place in K-12 schools and on college campuses, published on March 12 found that anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes “serious enough to be reported to local police” more than doubled across the country in recent years. The Post found that while an average of 108 anti-LGBTQ+ school hate crimes were reported between 2015 and 2019, that average rose to 232 between 2021 and 2022. According to FBI data, the most common hate crimes reported at schools were intimidation, simple assault (assault where no weapon was used), and vandalism.

However, this rise in school hate crimes was more pronounced in the 28 states that have enacted policies restricting LGBTQ+ students’ self-expression and/or limiting how teachers can talk about gender and sexuality in school. In these states, reported anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes on K-12 and college campuses more than tripled from an average of 28 per year between 2015 and 2019 to an average of 90 between 2021 and 2022.

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Some good news: Queer wins in 2023 US legislature

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While 2023 was a historically bleak year for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, the past 12 months have also seen groundbreaking wins for equality. Whether at the ballot box, in the courts, or even in hostile state legislatures, advocates have won major victories that either further the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans or safeguard the protections that queer and trans people hold dear.

At first glance, though, it may seem as if LGBTQ+ people have little to celebrate: Of the more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that the American Civil Liberties Union tracked this year, at least 84 were signed into law. The enacted legislation included 26 bills restricting trans youth access to gender-affirming medical care and 34 bills targeting trans students and restricting the rights of educators to discuss and teach LGBTQ+ topics in schools.

But for as many big wins as the far right scored in 2023, civil rights advocates remain hopeful about the LGBTQ+ movement’s future — and even its present. Chris Erchull, an attorney for GLAD, takes inspiration from the LGBTQ+ youth activists and families who successfully opposed a New Hampshire bill that would have required teachers and faculty to out trans students to their parents.

While the state has voted Democrat in the past five presidential elections, New Hampshire has a Republican trifecta in power, with the GOP controlling both houses of the legislature and the governor’s seat. In preventing the forced outing bill’s passage, Erchull believes it shows other victories are possible, including in tough places.

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US Supreme Court allows anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination

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The Supreme Court on Friday allowed certain businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, creating a large loophole in federal and state civil rights laws that have protected Americans for decades. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion for the court’s conservative justices, who made up the 6 vote majority. The court’s three Democratic-appointed justices dissented.

The case, 303 Creative v. Elenis, was brought by a web designer who wants to create wedding websites for opposite-sex couples but not for same-sex couples—a form of economic discrimination that harkens back to the era before the civil rights movement. But under Colorado’s public accommodations law, services offered to some people must be offered to all. Today, the Republican-appointed justices rolled back the clock and once again opened the marketplace to discrimination.

The court ruled that the web designer’s work is a form of artistic expression and that forcing her to create a website for a same-sex wedding is compelling speech in violation of her First Amendment rights. The ruling thus draws a huge loophole in civil rights law for businesses who claim that their product is a form of speech.

It creates a new reality for LGBTQ+ people, who can now face discrimination from businesses that refuse to serve them because of who they are. In some areas of the country, this might make it difficult to procure certain goods and services. But throughout the nation, it creates the impression that LGBTQ+ people are second-class citizens who do not have the same freedoms as everyone else.

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The religious group behind US effort to roll back queer rights

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With the US besieged by a rightwing culture war campaign that aims to strip away rights from LGBTQ+ people and others, blame tends to be focused on Republican politicians and conservative media figures.

But lurking behind efforts to roll back abortion rights, to demonize trans people, and to peel back the protections afforded to gay and queer Americans is a shadowy, well-funded rightwing legal organization, experts say.

Since it was formed in 1994, Alliance Defending Freedom has been at the center of a nationwide effort to limit the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people, all in the name of Christianity. The Southern Poverty Law Center has termed it an “anti-LGBTQ hate group” that has extended its tentacles into nearly every area of the culture wars.

In the process, it has won the ear of some of the most influential people in the US, and become “a danger to every American who values their freedoms”, according to Glaad, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.

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America’s queer youth is struggling

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A new survey conducted by The Trevor Project shed light on the mental health struggles and hopes of LGBTQ young people. In a time when anti-LGBTQ legislation is at an all-time high, it’s critical to understand the needs of the communities that are being targeted. Through surveying more than 28,000 LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13 and 24, The Trevor Project brings us closer to that understanding.

Nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people said their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ policies – which shows that the political is personal and when politicians advance anti-LGBTQ legislation, they’re harming the mental health of their targets. This is especially important to note in 2023, when the highest amount of discriminatory legislation is being proposed in state houses across the country.

LGBTQ young people who had access to affirming homes, schools, community events, and online spaces reported lower rates of attempting suicide compared to those who did not. Affirmation – whether it’s in the form of a home environment or an online space – can actually change whether a person attempts suicide. And affirmation can be so simple. It can be respecting someone’s pronouns or honouring their sexual orientation.

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