When Donald J. Trump was officially elected the 45th President of the United States, LGBT nonprofits across the country grieved. It was a major slap in the face to all the progress achieved by activists. But sorrow is only one of the many emotions that LGBT nonprofits are feeling right now. They’re also fearful—fearful of losing funding, fearful of being targeted by hate crimes, and fearful that pro-LGBT legislation will be repealed.
And these fears are warranted. During an interview with Chris Wallace, Donald Trump said he would “strongly consider” appointing Supreme Court Justices to overrule same-sex marriage. And now that Republicans have control of the House and the Senate, there’s a strong possibility that this could happen.
Future Vice President Mike Pence is also strongly against LGBT rights. The former governor of Indiana has supported legislature that would ban same-sex marriage, fund conversion therapy, and even jail homosexual couples. A statement from his 2000 campaign website reads, “Congress should oppose any effort to put gay and lesbian relationships on an equal legal status with heterosexual marriage.”
LGBT nonprofits are in trouble right now. A lot of these organizations receive grants from the federal government. With conservatives in office, it’s possible that these organizations won’t receive anymore federal funding.
But part of the problem is that not a lot of people understand just how much of a difference LGBT nonprofits have made. Take True Colors Fund for example. True Colors Fund is dedicated to ending LGBT youth homelessness. According to their website, 1.6 million American youth are homeless each year and up to 40% of them identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. In other words, innocent, vulnerable children could be impacted by this election.
And so LGBT nonprofits mourn. They mourn for the loss of progress, they mourn for the loss of funding, and they mourn for the loss of programs designed to protect at-risk populations.