We’re going to take a break from our regular international gay news roundup this week to look at reactions to Donald Trump’s election victory because, let’s be honest, nobody is writing about anything else. If you’re curious about the rest of the world, Australia is moving slowly forward towards equal marriage, Canada got gender neutral travel documents, and Mexico failed to pass a comprehensive equal marriage bill.
Now on to Trump.
In the immediate aftermath of the election, Queerty rounded up tweets of people who claim to have been attacked or called homophobic slurs by rowdy Trump supporters. Meanwhile, two LGBT suicide hotlines told Mother Jones that calls spiked after the election was called for Trump.
Chad Griffin at the Human Rights Campaign called Trump “a man who stands opposed to our most fundamental values” and urged LGBT Americans to redouble their efforts, while also raising red flags about anti-LGBT campaigners in Trump’s transition team. The National Centre for Lesbian Rights responded by reassuring same-sex married couples that their marriages are probably legally safe from a Trump presidency.
The worry on everyone’s lips this week is whether a Trump presidency will lead to backlash against LGBT Americans. Reuters collected comment from a wide range of LGBT leaders; most were worried, but some held up hope that Trump’s ambivalent stance on LGBT rights would turn for the better. Many worry most about Trump’s running mate Mike Pence, a former governor with a long history of far conservative anti-gay rhetoric.
On the upside, Oregon did elect the country’s first openly LGBT governor in Kate Brown, but the overall number of out legislators elected actually dropped Tuesday night.
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