White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
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On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked if President Trump would keep Executive Order 13672 intact. Executive Order 13672 prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors. The law protects an estimated 34 million people from workplace discrimination.
Unfortunately, Spicer didn’t give much in the way of an answer. He simply said that he was unsure as to whether or not Trump would keep the executive order in place.
“I don’t know on that one,” Spicer stated. “I have to get back to you on that. I don’t that we’ve gotten that far in the list of executive orders, but I’d be glad to get back to you.”
When asked in a more general sense as to whether or not the president would overturn LGBT legislature, Spicer said, “Again, it’s not—I just don’t know the answer. I’ll try to get back to you on that.”
Although Spicer didn’t definitively say “yes, we will be revoking these policies,” it’s still quite the cause for concern. Basic civil rights shouldn’t be up for debate. It shouldn’t be something you have to think real hard on. The fact that the administration even needs time to ponder this is truly troublesome.
But we knew this would happen, didn’t we? We did our best to communicate our concerns. We did our best to express our fears. But our voices were drowned out by the unrelenting patriotism of those who long for the good ol’ days.
Forgive us for not being nostalgic about a time when we were forced into hiding. Forgive us for not grieving the loss of an America where only certain groups of people were allowed to prosper. Forgive us for envisioning a new America, one that is truly diverse, inclusive, and welcoming towards all. America was never great, but it could be… someday.