LGBTQ+ groups file lawsuit against Trump DEI actions
Thursday's lawsuit is the latest legal battle against the Trump administration
Thursday's lawsuit is the latest legal battle against the Trump administration
Thursday's lawsuit is the latest legal battle against the Trump administration
Nine LGBTQ+ and HIV advocacy groups from across the country have banded together to challenge three of President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive orders in court.
Related video above: Trump administration faces more lawsuits, legal rulings over flurry of executive actions
In a filed on Thursday by Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization focused on LGBTQ+ policies, the nonprofit groups said Trump鈥檚 executive orders should be declared unconstitutional and discriminatory.
The orders challenged include:
- Executive order , which says the U.S. only recognizes two sexes and prohibits federal contractors from recognizing gender identities.
- Executive orders and , which target diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in the federal government, calling for their end.
鈥淭hese executive orders pose an existential threat to transgender people and the organizations that advocate for them and provide shelter, community and support,鈥� lead lawyer Jose Abrigo said in a from Lambda Legal.
The lawsuit comes as federal agencies have started pulling funding to organizations that serve transgender people or that are 鈥渆quity-related.鈥� Some of the nonprofits named in the lawsuit have already had difficulty accessing federal funds, a press release from Lambda Legal said.
San Francisco AIDS Foundation v. Trump argues that Trump鈥檚 executive orders violate the First Amendment by limiting the free speech of nonprofit organizations. It also says the orders violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The lawsuit says that Trump鈥檚 executive orders harm the nonprofits' ability to provide life-saving services across the country. Those services include HIV treatment and prevention, sexual and reproductive health screenings, homelessness prevention and more.
鈥淲e joined this lawsuit because these executive orders threaten the vital services we provide to one of the nation鈥檚 largest and most diverse LGBTQ+ communities and are an affront to us all,鈥� said Carla Smith, the CEO of the NYC LGBT Community Center. 鈥淲e will not allow the erasure of transgender people.鈥�
Already, Lambda Legal has filed four lawsuits against the Trump administration, and this is its second lawsuit against these specific executive orders.
Below are the nine LGBTQ+ and HIV nonprofits named in the lawsuit.