Trump signs order reversing LGBT policy

Trump signs order reversing LGBT policy

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has reversed an executive order made by former President Barack Obama in 2014 that prevented companies without LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) anti-discrimination policies from being eligible for federal contracts.

Conservatives are praising the March 27 decision, which is a departure from Trump’s original decision to uphold the Obama-era order, The Christian Post reported.

Abraham Hamilton III, public policy analyst for the American Family Association, referred to Trump’s order as “heartening.”

“American citizens should not be forced to abandon their faith in order to contract with the federal government,” he said. “We hope this is an early indication that religious freedom protection will be a defining feature of President Trump’s legacy.”

But LGBT groups say they are concerned the decision will increase discrimination.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said Trump’s order was a “quiet takedown … of federal safeguards against employment discrimination for millions of LGBT,” according to the Post. (TAB)