Biden Signs Executive Order to Protect the LGBTQ Community

The primary duty of an American president is to serve all 331 million people. He or she is not allowed to serve one group with whom he personally agrees or one race that supports him or her. Regardless of their race, beliefs, the color of skin, religion, sex, or sexual orientation, he or she is obligated to serve all Americans. Today it was announced that President Biden is doing the right thing by performing his duty.

He signed an executive order protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. This is an effort to counter the efforts by about a dozen red states, including Texas, Alabama, and Florida to restrict or abolish the rights of all LGBTQ+ Americans. Recently the most egregious attacks have been focused on transexual Americans.

President Biden’s action received praise from the LGBTQ+ community.

“This historic executive order will advance long-sought, LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices that will help save young LGBTQ lives,” Amit Paley, the CEO and executive director of the LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention group The Trevor Project said Tuesday in a statement.

Courtesy of librarypaula (Flickr CC0)

“It’s past time that we put an end to the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion ‘therapy,’ and expand access to the affirming care LGBTQ young people actually need to survive and thrive,” Paley said, referring to one of the provisions in the executive order that charges the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with reducing the risk of youth exposure to the discredited practice, which aims to change a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

Attacks on the LGBTQ+ community are as ignorant as possible. These Americans are looking for nothing more than being allowed to live their lives in peace, and having the same rights guaranteed by the Constitution to heterosexual Americans. It is foolhardy that laws or executive orders must be passed to protect them from prejudiced politicians and bigots.

This is another situation that is the result of denying science. Members of the LGBTQ+ community do not choose their lifestyle. They are people whose minds, their very essence, were born into the wrong bodies, or into situations that make them uncomfortable. They feel like they do not belong in the life they are forced to live. Transexuals who seek physical changes are required to undergo multiple psychiatric evaluations prior to hormone therapy, and possible surgeries. This is not an easy process, but necessary. The highest suicide rate among the LGBTQ+ community is for men and women who know they were born into a body with the wrong gender.

Biden is to be commended, but not praised. This is what an American president is intended to do. His predecessor and vice-president opposed the very existence of lesbians, bisexuals, gays, transexuals, queers, and any other sexual orientation other than heterosexuals. Our nation suffered for four years for not having elected an American to live in the White House.

Op-ed by James Turnage
Edited by Sheena Robertson

My nine novels are available on Amazon

Sources:

The Hill: LGBTQ+ equality groups celebrate Biden executive order, but say there’s more work to be done
The White House: Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals

Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of librarypaula’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License