Trump Sends Log Cabin Republicans Letter Supporting Gay People, Signs Religious Freedom Proclamation Effectively Nullifying It

Trump Rails Against ‘Forcing People to Comply With Laws That Violate Their Core Religious Beliefs’ 

President Trump signed a proclamation declaring Tuesday Religious Freedom Day. In his proclamation extolling the importance of religious freedom, Trump sent a clear message that LGBT people should not expect equal treatment under the law – or at the local bakery. 

“Unfortunately, not all have recognized the importance of religious freedom, whether by threatening tax consequences for particular forms of religious speech, or forcing people to comply with laws that violate their core religious beliefs without sufficient justification,” the proclamation reads.

“These incursions, little by little, can destroy the fundamental freedom underlying our democracy.  Therefore, soon after taking office, I addressed these issues in an Executive Order that helps ensure Americans are able to follow their consciences without undue Government interference and the Department of Justice has issued guidance to Federal agencies regarding their compliance with laws that protect religious freedom.  No American – whether a nun, nurse, baker, or business owner — should be forced to choose between the tenants of faith or adherence to the law.”

(Yes, the original proclamation sent out by the White House spells “tenets” wrong. It is corrected in the WhiteHouse.gov version.)

So let’s look at that last part again: “No American – whether a nun, nurse, baker, or business owner — should be forced to choose between the tenets of faith or adherence to the law.”

It’s a safe bet Trump wasn’t taking about gay bakers, but anti-gay bakers. As far as nuns and nurses, he’s talking about blocking access to contraception and abortion.

(In fact, the Trump administration this week will unveil a new focus at the Dept. of Health and Human Services: outreach to enable religion-based anti-transgender and anti-abortion discrimination by health care workers.)

So it’s interesting, as The Advocate notes, that just one day after Trump’s attack on LGBT people and women, the Log Cabin Republicans posted a letter – dated December 21 – to Twitter from President Trump sending his support and congratulations on their 40th anniversary.

Yes, it is surprising to see these two hashtags in the same tweet: #MAGA #LGBT.

And what did Trump say in his letter to Log Cabin Republicans?

“We are a Nation founded on the undeniable truth that all of us are created equal,” Trump said, ignoring his stance on marriage equality and the right of transgender people to serve in the military or to use restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

“We are equal in the eyes of our Creator. We are equal under the law. And we are all equal under our Constitution,” Trump said. “No matter the color of our skin or our sexual orientation, we all live under the same laws, salute the same great American flag, and are made in the image of the same Almighty God.”

“As we write the next great chapter of our Nation, we reaffirm our commitment to these fundamental truths and will work to ensure that all Americans live in a country where they feel safe and where their opportunities are limitless,” he claimed.

Many Americans do not feel safe, specifically because of Trump’s words and actions.

Americans like the wife and teenaged daughters of a 39-year old undocumented immigrant ICE deported this week after he had spent the past 30 years living, working, and raising a family in America.

Americans like the people in Puerto Rico, many of whom have now gone without electricity for more than 110 days. Those same people were told by President Trump’s administration today their island territory just isn’t poor enough for federal community disaster loans.

Of course, many transgender Americans, who the Trump administration has targeted almost from day one, don’t feel safe under this president – that includes transgender service members literally putting their lives on the line to protect us all.

And LGBT people overall, who have seen Trump’s Dept. of Justice and Dept. of Education, along with many other federal agencies, turn their backs and attack us. 

For President Trump to sign a letter saying he believes LGBT people are equal under his presidency is farcical. So is LCR posting the letter with exactly zero pushback.

Log Cabin Republicans know that Trump doesn’t support LGBT equality, don’t they? Because President Trump and his administration sure do.

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Image by Sean Spicer via Wikimedia 

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