Opinion: Trump Administration's Decision Detrimental to Social Progress

President Donald Trump, along with his administration, have found themselves in another controversial situation. The administration has recently debated, in regards to sexual orientation, the true definition of gender among Americans.

This situation seems to be a continuation of both disputable and contentious decisions made by Trump and his administration. From travel ban to immigrant internment camps, the administration has gone against basic human rights and has made it more difficult for certain citizens to live freely in this country.

In regards to recent developments involving the role of the transgender community in the United States, Trump has presented the decision that gender should be defined by one's birth, disregarding one’s possible personal decision to change genders at any point in their life. What this means is that the rights held by the transgender community will diminish, decreasing protection for them and increase levels of gender discrimination substantially. About 1.4 million Americans recognizing themselves as transgender will not receive federal recognition or civil rights protections due to this decision.

During the tenure of the Obama administration, transgender rights were greatly improved based on a looser meaning of gender. Obama’s administration had defined and recognized gender as “an individual’s choice and not determined by the sex assigned at birth.” Pushes for more equal rights pertaining to the LGBTQ community were answered and social progress was prevalent. Yet this progress may be stalled and quite possibly be depleted exponentially.

Trump, since his inauguration, has presented incredibly unethical and inhumane decisions, detrimental to not just social progress but to human morals as well. With this decision comes more discrimination, civil rights issues and the well being of certain American citizens. The safety for the transgender community is practically nonexistent according to the Human Rights Campaign, who stated that “In 2017, advocates tracked at least 29 deaths of transgender people in the United States due to fatal violence, the most ever recorded” An appalling statistic only to be worsened by a decision that many see as a disgrace to human rights.

This decision goes against what it truly means to be free and takes away humans rights to freely express themselves the way they so choose. And yet, this decision is a cry from a bigoted mindset, pushing for a plea to “Make America Great Again.” A slap in the face to all of those brave enough to pursue change. An abomination to those who stand up and fight for equality in this country.