Trump to Continue Obama Order Protecting LGBTQ Federal Workers

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 1/31/2017, 9:35 a.m.
An executive order protecting federal employees from anti-LGBTQ discrimination that was signed by President Barack Obama in 2014 will continue …
With the start of US President Donald Trump's administration, and despite a senior administration official stating that the White House has no plans to reverse LGBT protections for federal workers, advocates and the community still perceive the administration as unfriendly to LGBTQ rights. Credit: National Center for Transgender Equality/CNN

By David Wright and Eugene Scott

CNN

(CNN) -- An executive order protecting federal employees from anti-LGBTQ discrimination that was signed by President Barack Obama in 2014 will continue to be in effect in President Donald Trump's administration, the White House announced Tuesday.

In a statement, the White House said that "President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community."

"The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact," the statement read.

The executive order was signed by Obama in July 2014. It extended protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and was predicated on previous executive orders under Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton that created additional protected classes.

The Log Cabin Republicans praised the decision Tuesday calling Trump "a real friend" to the LGBT community.

"Donald Trump campaigned promising to be a 'real friend' to the LGBT community, and now President Trump is delivering on that commitment," said group president Gregory Angelo. "Log Cabin Republicans is proud to have directly lobbied for this important preservation of LGBT equality in the federal workforce."

While Hillary Clinton received the endorsement of several large LGBT organizations, Trump attracted attention for being the first the Republican presidential nominee to specifically mention the gay community in his party acceptance speech.

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