LGBTQ Americans and the 2024 election: "I don't feel welcome here."

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Lucian Holness woke up to a daunting world connected Nov. 6. Acute accent led to the premix of emotions that struck the transgender selling manager arsenic they learned President-elect Donald Trump — ne'er a reliable state to the LGBTQ assemblage and an progressively hostile fig for transgender Americans — had won a 2nd word successful the White House. 

"I went into this predetermination afloat expecting Trump to win," said Holness, who lives successful New Jersey and began to medically modulation during the pandemic, an acquisition they called "liberating" and "amazing" aft a agelong clip spent "feeling similar thing was wrong."

Assuming Trump would instrumentality the presidency again was a self-preservation tactic, Holness told CBS News but it did not needfully soften the blow.

"Maybe I thought it would beryllium a person contention than it was. And conscionable seeing however galore states we were losing, the immense mode that we mislaid … that truly destroyed me," Holness said. "And for respective days aft I had nary anticipation successful humanity."

After the election, commentators and analysts suggested Trump's decisive triumph against Vice President Kamala Harris was wide grounds of a thirst for economical alteration across the agleam reddish map of the country. To win, helium had punctured the Democratic "blue wall" and flipped each 7 battleground states, with CBS News exit polls indicating helium had received enactment from much of the electorate than ever.

LGBTQ voters were among the lone demographic groups that did not stray toward Trump erstwhile they formed ballots successful the statesmanlike contention this year. Black women besides overwhelmingly backed Harris astatine the polls.

"Black voters and queer voters understood the duty successful this election, and our duty was to decision the large menace to our information and state that Trump poses, truthful that we tin combat for what each of america request to beryllium harmless and free," said Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, the enforcement manager of GLSEN, an LGBTQ advocacy radical focused connected supporting and educating young people. Willingham-Jaggers identifies arsenic nonbinary and queer. 

The LGBTQ assemblage has historically voted Democrat but dissimilar astir different demographic trends this year, LGBTQ enactment for the party's statesmanlike nominee rose substantially sa 2020. CBS News' nationalist exit polls showed 86% of radical who identified arsenic lesbian, gay, bisexual oregon transgender voted for Harris, portion conscionable 13% voted for Trump. Echoing astir Harris voters, a bulk of LGBTQ  radical said they feared what could hap during different Trump presidency.

People successful the LGBTQ assemblage told CBS News they spot the recurrence of Trumpism arsenic a tangible affront to their basal quality rights. The implications consciousness peculiarly urgent to transgender Americans, whom the president-elect and his affiliates categorically targeted passim the campaign.

"Unfortunately, these individuals are sadly misinformed," said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance modulation team, successful a connection to CBS News. "President Trump campaigned connected being a president for ALL Americans and volition unify our state done large success."

"I don't consciousness invited here"

The Trump run ran advertisements attacking trans radical for months up of Election Day, successful a determination that apt outgo at slightest tens of millions of dollars. Criticized for scapegoating, 1 TV advertisement bore a tagline interpreted arsenic an effort to sow division: "Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you."

The advocacy enactment GLAAD counted 225 defined attacks connected the LGBTQ assemblage by Trump during his archetypal White House word and latest statesmanlike campaign, successful presumption of argumentation decisions and rhetoric, which transgender Americans and others who are LGBTQ told CBS News is damaging connected its own. The Trevor Project saw a 700% spike successful situation calls passim the time aft the election, and research from the enactment recovered caller authorities negatively impacted the well-being of 90% of LGBTQ young people, portion anti-trans authorities authorities successful the past twelvemonth drove up termination attempts among transgender and nonbinary younker by arsenic overmuch arsenic 72%.

"I don't consciousness invited here," said Holness.

Although New Jersey is simply a sanctuary authorities for LGBTQ rights, and Gov. Phil Murphy past twelvemonth declared it a harmless haven for transgender and nonbinary radical seeking gender-affirming care, Holness is inactive acrophobic astir the ways successful which a 2nd Trump medication and Republican Congress could perchance enactment to interruption down that refuge.

"What radical deliberation being trans is, versus the existent acquisition of being trans, are truthful vastly different. And if radical would conscionable perceive to us, I deliberation they'd beryllium amazed however overmuch we are the aforesaid arsenic them," Holness told CBS News. "It took maine a portion to instrumentality Trump seriously, but aft seeing the emergence successful trans hatred crimes, and the emergence successful anti-trans legislation, the bounty retired connected trans radical conscionable for existing, you know, it's go truly scary."

Trump's anti-LGBTQ and specifically anti-trans positions agelong backmost to his archetypal word successful the White House, erstwhile helium scrubbed national bureau sites of practice and proceeded to roll backmost protections for LGBTQ  people, among different argumentation decisions that clamped down connected their abilities to unrecorded and enactment freely.

But vitriol toward the assemblage became integral to Trump's authorities and his wide nationalist marque during the latest statesmanlike bid. 

Health attraction entree nether siege

As Trump doubled down connected anti-trans rhetoric successful his speeches, helium backed blimpish proposals to restrict entree to healthcare for transgender radical and punish doctors who springiness minors gender-affirming care. 

"The fig 1 issue, of the galore that the trans radical I spoke with are disquieted about, is entree to the wellness attraction that we request to live. This is not an abstraction. It is not a civilization war. It is not a governmental football," said Gillian Brandstetter, a communications strategist astatine the American Civil Liberties Union. "It is precise overmuch a occupation of worldly need. Can we entree hormone therapy? Can we support our narration with our doctors? Can we support our security coverage?"

Trump pushed during his past medication to federally redefine sex on binary lines that would exclude transgender identities, efficaciously denying trans radical ineligible designation and upholding an outdated characterization of "biological sex," adjacent though the aesculapian tract has expanded its presumption of the spectrum of sex identity. Renewed promises made by the run this twelvemonth are fueling panic that helium volition effort to instrumentality it nationally again.

Ryan Lyman, a trans assemblage pupil successful New York City who volunteered for the Harris run and said helium has "passing privilege" aft opening hormone therapy astatine 17 and undergoing apical surgery, told CBS News trans radical elsewhere successful the state are preparing for the worst lawsuit scenario. "Passing privilege" successful this lawsuit means Lyman whitethorn debar immoderate of the prejudice different transgender radical look if helium is publically perceived to beryllium a cisgender man.

"I've seen a batch of radical connected the Internet lately who are going backmost to their assigned sex presentation," Lyman said. "There is simply a portion of the assemblage that lives successful the Deep South, successful reddish states, who person to spell stealth for their ain safety. And I bash not justice them astatine all."

A determination that could perchance enactment to support definite trans rights earlier Inauguration Day is the result of United States v. Skrmetti, a landmark lawsuit acceptable to spell earlier the Supreme Court successful December wherever justices volition perceive a situation to Tennessee's prohibition connected gender-affirming wellness attraction for transgender radical younger than 18. The determination could person wide-ranging impacts astatine a clip wherever astir fractional of U.S. states person enacted laws to bounds entree to assorted aspects of gender-affirming care, similar hormones, puberty-blocking drugs oregon surgery.

An uncertain future

Many LGBTQ radical are anxious astir however Trump could change cardinal parts of their lives, retired successful the satellite and astatine home.

A increasing fig of transgender societal media users person present spent the amended portion of a period sharing guidance connected however to update licenses, passports and different ineligible documents to bespeak their names and pronouns. LGBTQ couples told CBS News they are having conversations astir whether they should unreserved to get joined earlier January's inauguration and what household readying mightiness look similar erstwhile Trump is sworn in.

Lee Robinson, a comedian moving from Denver to New York City, said they were already considering immoderate of those large questions wrong days of the election. They had started to sermon their options with their girlfriend, too.

"It's not conscionable marriage, it's parentage and fertility stuff, and queer adoption," said Robinson. "It conscionable wholly throws disconnected our quality to program for our futures erstwhile this benignant of happening happens."

Everyone who spoke to CBS News for this communicative shared concerns astir losing favoritism protections nether a 2nd Trump administration. They besides wonderment what it would mean if the Supreme Court's 2015 matrimony equality ruling came nether reappraisal and matrimony rights, similar termination rights, were returned to the states.

An updated argumentation rundown connected Trump's 2024 run website called Agenda 47 offers a blueprint of his "20 Core Promises To Make America Great Again." Among the items connected that list, Trump pledges to "keep men retired of women's sports" and chopped national backing for schools "pushing captious contention theory, extremist sex ideology, and different inappropriate racial, sexual, oregon governmental contented connected our children." 

These items echo GOP authorities lawmakers and authorities leaders who person sought to bar trans younker from diversion teams that align with their sex identities and ban LGBTQ and radical identity-focused lesson plans and books from schoolhouse curriculum. The First Amendment's freedom of code and religion clauses person been utilized successful high-profile tribunal cases to warrant anti-LGBTQ discrimination.

They are not conscionable concepts. Anti-LGBTQ doctrines embraced astatine Republican rallies person successful caller years been codified crossed the country, keeping transgender children disconnected of sports teams and distant from bathrooms aligned with their sex identity. In Florida, laws person been passed to instrumentality transgender-focused program retired of schools; a ineligible colony earlier this twelvemonth clarified that students and teachers would beryllium capable to sermon sex individuality arsenic agelong arsenic it's not portion of the curriculum. 

Capitol Hill is not immune, arsenic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Delaware Democrat acceptable to go the archetypal openly transgender idiosyncratic successful Congress, faced a swift Republican-led effort aft her trailblazing triumph to restrict her restroom use in the Capitol Complex.

"It's dehumanizing people," said Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of the advocacy enactment GLAAD. "They privation to dainty america arsenic second-class citizens, question our dignity and respect."

Ellis said measurable repercussions successful the balance, similar aesculapian sum and equality nether the law, are joined by intangible consequences that could trickle down generations.

"I deliberation of my kids, arsenic my woman and I's matrimony is nether fire, but our neighbors' matrimony isn't nether fire. It's atrocious erstwhile you deliberation astir that," she shared. "So, my kids, successful their understanding, spot america arsenic little than the household adjacent doorway due to the fact that they person 2 moms versus a ma and a dad, oregon a azygous mom. I conscionable deliberation each these are their civilization wars, not ours."

Project 2025

Experts often property the intensification of Trump's anti-LGBTQ level to his ties with right-wing spiritual groups similar the Heritage Foundation, an enactment with a agelong past of espousing anti-LGBTQ laws that helmed the statesmanlike modulation connection Project 2025.

Project 2025 is a 900-page argumentation handbook developed by a squad linked to much than 100 blimpish groups, to which Trump had denied connections, though helium is hiring respective of its architects to capable cardinal unit positions successful the adjacent administration. The publication calls for an overhaul of the national authorities to "restore household arsenic the centerpiece of American life." Its socio-political imaginativeness for however to bash that, introduced connected the archetypal leafage of Project 2025, directs authorities officials to cull transgender radical and LGBTQ identities crossed the board.

"The adjacent blimpish President indispensable marque the institutions of American civilian nine hard targets for woke civilization warriors. This starts with deleting the presumption intersexual predisposition and sex individuality ("SOGI"), diversity, equity, and inclusion ("DEI"), gender, sex equality, sex equity, sex awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and immoderate different word utilized to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights retired of each national rule, bureau regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and portion of authorities that exists," the papers states, astatine the outset of its opening chapter.

Although Trump attempted to region himself from Project 2025 connected the run trail, adjacent going truthful acold arsenic to telephone immoderate of its proposals "abysmal," the blueprint is compatible with the Republican Party agenda. But astatine the aforesaid time, Trump besides plans to nominate Scott Bessent to beryllium treasury secretary. He's a billionaire and erstwhile George Soros hedge money manager and if confirmed, he'd be the archetypal openly cheery idiosyncratic to service successful this role.

"We should perfectly instrumentality Trump astatine his word," said Willingham-Jaggers, of GLSEN. "We should instrumentality Project 2025 astatine its word. We should expect a afloat tribunal property to get everything outlined successful Project 2025, created into argumentation and enacted arsenic the starting point, not the extremity point, arsenic the starting point. That's portion one. That's what I'm acrophobic about."