LGBTQ+ People Are Not Going Back: No Sham Elections
Getting real with ourselves and with our leaders
I voted for Kamala Harris.
In my most popular Bluesky post ever, a couple weeks before the election, I argued in favor of voting rather than sitting it out.
At the ballot box, you may view your choices optimistically (A is better than B) or pessimistically (A is less bad than B). Regardless, the election is happening, and the outcome matters to you and to everyone else too, so there’s no benefit to anyone in your refusal to choose.
I made the same argument on Medium.
But let me add a little complexity
A month before an election, the candidates are already confirmed, we no longer have any say in who’s running. At that point, all we can do is vote and encourage others to do so.
But a month after an election (where we are now), we can start planning for the next one, and we can raise our voices about who will run next time.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people need candidates who defend and represent us.
If a candidate supports who we are and how we live, we may be able to support their run for office. If they don’t, we can’t.
If a candidate supports who we are and how we live, we may be able to support their run for office. If they don’t, we can’t.
The first Trump administration was anti-LGBTQ
Here’s what we can’t go back to. This information is based on something I previously wrote for Authors for Democracy.
In 2017, the first Trump administration kicked off by quietly deleting existing mentions of LGBTQ rights from the White House, State Department, and Labor Department websites.
Having lied about intending to protect the rights of LGBTQ federal workers, they removed a directive that federal contractors must comply with LGBTQ-related nondiscrimination laws. They argued before the Supreme Court that LGBTQ people in private employment aren’t covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They demanded “religious liberty” for business owners to discriminate against LGBTQ customers. They created a Conscience and Religious Freedom Division of Health and Human Services to enable discrimination against LGBTQ people, plus a Commission on Unalienable Rights to establish Catholic-inspired philosophy to underpin those legal decisions.
Trump dissolved the Office of National AIDS Policy and the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, both of which had existed since the 1990s. Having lied that he would prioritize HIV funding, he proposed cuts.
He attacked the Affordable Care Act’s nondiscrimination provision that entitles LGBTQ people to equal access to healthcare.
Of his 57 nominees for federal circuit court judges — mostly white men, none Black — 22 had “a demonstrated history of hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community,” according to Lambda Legal. Almost all were confirmed. Only 2 of his 234 appointed federal judges (known as Article III judges) are openly gay.
He did nominate five openly gay men as ambassadors: Robert Gilchrist (to Lithuania), Richard Grenell (to Germany), Randy Berry (to Nepal), Eric Nelson (to Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Jeff Daigle (to Cabo Verde). None is still serving as ambassador. Richard Grenell once held a dinner party that Trump falsely touted as a “global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality.” Far from advocating decriminalization, Trump ordered all U.S. embassies worldwide not to fly a Pride flag, even in countries where it’s already legal to do so.
The Trump administration impeded data collection about LGBTQ identity and relationships through the 2020 Census, the American Community Survey, the National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants, and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.
Trump strove to implement a definition of “biological sex” across all federal agencies, which would have broadly hindered people from living trans lives, while waging anti-trans battles piecemeal against homeless shelters, prisons, schools, and the military.
That’s what we won’t go back to.
Of course, we’re about to get a second Trump administration, with his party full of loyalists controlling both the House and Senate so he can pass any legislation he wants, and what his Project 2025 has in store for us will be worse. Much, much worse. We know it. We’re not in denial of reality.
The plea is aspirational: We won’t go back.
Now we can let ourselves be steamrolled or we can say “no” and fight for our lives. What we do affects the outcome for everyone.
So we have to keep fighting.
Anti-queer attacks affect everyone
LGBTQ rights aren’t a niche issue for an identity-based population.
As I wrote previously: Gay and trans freedom is everyone’s freedom.
This is about autonomy.
This is about autonomy.
The right to abortion. The Supreme Court took it away, and the states are chipping away at it too.
Access to other sexual health services. When gynecologists are afraid to practice, no one gets care. When HIV treatment is deprioritized, everyone’s at risk. When federal funding for healthcare is cut, the whole society loses.
The right to marry a person of any gender. The Supreme Court hinted they’ll take it away.
The right to divorce a person of any gender. That’s important too.
The ability to get a no-fault divorce. This is especially important for abuse victims who shouldn’t have to prove the abuse in court while still being married to their abuser. Republican leaders don’t want you to have this option because they believe in patriarchal control.
Fair consideration in a child custody case. If you, your ex, or your child is LGBTQ, you want judges to be fair everywhere. You need the country to share some basic values about dignity, privacy, the right to healthcare, and the right to affirm your child’s identity. When certain kinds of healthcare are available only in certain states, it takes a toll on families. You don’t want your child to suffer from anti-LGBTQ discrimination in court by a judge who doesn’t know them.
Safety from police brutality. On a federal level too. Think about what will happen when Pam Bondi is Attorney General, Kash Patel takes over the FBI, Tulsi Gabbard is Director of National Intelligence, and Sebastian Gorka is once again leading counterterrorism.
A pathway to citizenship, with families staying together. They’re planning to deport as many people as they can.
A religiously pluralistic society. Wealthy, white Christian men shouldn’t run the show. They’ll have their opinions, but there’s no reason for us to consent for the United States to be a Christian theocracy. The rest of us live here too.
A habitable planet. All of our bodies are inextricably part of the same planetary body. Climate change, pollution, and species extinction is not something I consented to have done to my body.
Freedom to organize, educate, advocate. HR 9495 has passed the House. Now it goes to the Senate. This law would authorize the executive branch of government (under hedge fund manager Scott Bessent) to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it accuses of wrongdoing, without evidence.
Protection from workplace abuse and discrimination. Workers have rights. Trump’s team would like to change that.
Freedom to be out as LGBTQ if you’re a teacher. In Florida, this is essentially illegal, and elsewhere, it has become fraught.
Access to books in the library. Parents are encouraged to “complain” about books they haven’t read, particularly any book they’ve heard mentions race or gender. In some areas, when the complaint is received, regardless of its validity, the librarian is required to remove the book. This is how books are banned.
The opportunity to attend a gay/straight alliance as a student. When teachers can’t say “gay” and books can’t either, students don’t have access to support.
Freedom to co-create a campus culture that’s trans-inclusive. Ohio law now says trans students — including those who are adults — can’t live in their gender, even at private universities they’re paying for.
Affirmative action in college admissions. The Supreme Court last year said “no.”
The ability to get a student loan. Trump plans to eliminate the Department of Education that originates federal student loans.
The option of gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and hormones, if you’re a trans kid. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow.
The option of gender-affirming care as an adult. No, of course they won’t stop with kids. Why would they? You hear them say kids are too young to choose to transition, but they don’t believe transition is a valid life choice for anyone, and they don’t want trans people to exist at any age.
The option to change your name. Did you know it is the official position of the Texas Republican Party to prevent adults from legally changing their names until they’re 26?
What makes an election ‘real’: Two senses
I don’t believe Trump intends to allow real elections going forward. Elections are of no benefit to him. We’ve known for years he has no qualms about shaking down an election official. Next time, he’ll arrange sham elections to whatever extent his power can muster. A sham election is when a dictator goes through the motions of holding “election-style events” but, having no intention of leaving office, manipulates the outcome.
That just makes it all the more important to fight back in the ways that are available to us. We must remember:
Not to comply in advance.
To say “no” when the moment comes.
And to put long-term effort into running candidates who believe that LGBTQ people are full human beings who deserve autonomy and equality. We need lawmakers who will defend us with words and actions. Even if they aren’t allowed to win elections, we can try. Not trying would be complying in advance.
Let’s think about a different meaning of the term “sham election”:
If no candidates actually support us, we can only cast sham votes.
When LGBTQ people don’t see any political candidates defending basic LGBTQ rights, we’re not having a “real election” in terms of a livable outcome for us.
When LGBTQ people don’t see any political candidates defending basic LGBTQ rights, we’re not having a “real election” in terms of a livable outcome for us.
Please contact your elected leaders today
On Congress.gov, find the names of your U.S. Representative (based on your address) and U.S. Senators.
It’s helpful to know if the lawmaker was recently reelected or will be leaving office in one month. If someone new is coming in, you might choose to contact them too.
If you don’t already know if they’ve been LGBTQ-supportive, find out.
- Look for press releases on their official webpage.
- See how they voted on recent legislation.
- Check out your state’s LGBTQ rights organization and find out their opinion.
- Ask a friend who’s wise on these matters.
- Search the politician’s social media accounts by keywords.
- Scan the headlines of queer/trans publications like Them.us to see what’s locally relevant to you right now.
- Search the ACLU’s tracker of 559 anti-LGBTQ bills filed in this year alone, or Erin in the Morning, to learn what’s happened in your state over the past couple years.
- Read the Wikipedia article “LGBTQ rights in [your state],” e.g., LGBTQ rights in Florida, to remind yourself of the historical landscape.
If relevant and if it feels appropriate, thank your elected leader for their past support of LGBTQ people.
Tell them: Don’t backpedal on LGBTQ+ rights. We can’t have any of that whatsoever. Tell them to stand up against attacks and defend their colleagues who are doing similar work or who are being attacked just for who they are.
Tell them that your willingness to support candidates depends on this.
Tell them you’ll pay attention to primary challengers and vote in the primary elections.
Tell them you yourself will run for office if that’s a real possibility for you.
Tell them you are serious.
Tucker Lieberman is an author who wants us to find our ways forward. tuckerlieberman.com Subscribe to his Streetlights newsletter (it’s free) on actions you can take to protect yourself and others in 2025: streetlights.ghost.io
Thanks to Julia Serano for the “LGBTQ+ People Are Not Going Back” prompt.
If you share this online, hashtag #LGBTQNotGoingBack to help others find it.
