the election of donald j. trump to the presidency sent panic through much of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, which for the first time in eight years will face an administration hostile to its civil rights goals and a president-elect who has expressed a desire to reverse many of its political gains. jay brown, a spokesman for the human rights campaign, the nation<u+2019>s largest gay rights organization, said its office had received calls throughout the day on wednesday from frightened people who wanted to know what the election results might mean for them. some callers wondered if they should speed up wedding plans so they could be married before the inauguration, in case a president trump tries to overturn gay marriage, he said. others worried that the military would reinstate <u+201c>don<u+2019>t ask, don<u+2019>t tell,<u+201d> the ban on openly gay and lesbian service members that ended in 2011. <u+201c>this is a devastating loss for our community,<u+201d> mr. brown said. <u+201c>it is something a lot of folks are still trying to wrap their heads around.<u+201d> mara keisling, the executive director of the national center for transgender equality, agreed. <u+201c>all across america right now there are millions of people who are terrified,<u+201d> she said. mr. trump has no reputation for personal animosity toward gay people, and the log cabin republicans, a gay and lesbian political organization, congratulated him on his victory . he employed gay people in the trump organization, spent most of his life in socially liberal new york city, and surprised some republicans this year when he said transgender people should <u+201c>use the bathroom they feel is appropriate,<u+201d> a view held by few others in the party. but many l.g.b.t. leaders said they were unmoved by accounts of mr. trump<u+2019>s personal tolerance. <u+201c>even if people believe that about trump, what is true is he will now be held to the g.o.p. platform,<u+201d> said rea carey, the executive director of the national l.g.b.t.q. task force. she called it the most anti-l.g.b.t. platform in recent memory. among its provisions : opposition to same-sex marriage , support for state laws limiting which public bathroom transgender people can use, and support for a parent<u+2019>s right to subject gay and transgender children to <u+201c>conversion therapy<u+201d> to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, a practice the obama administration has said should be banned for minors. ms. carey called mr. trump<u+2019>s public statements on gay and transgender issues <u+201c>confusing and conflicting.<u+201d> as a candidate, mr. trump told fox news that he would <u+201c>strongly consider<u+201d> appointing supreme court justices who would overturn same-sex marriage but later in the campaign held a rainbow flag onstage and presented himself as gay friendly. mr. trump has also promised to nullify all of mr. obama<u+2019>s executive orders, including one that bans anti-l.g.b.t. discrimination by federal contractors and another that protects the rights of transgender students, she said. gay and transgender leaders said they were especially alarmed when mr. trump chose mike pence, who has a long record of opposition to gay rights, as his running mate. <u+201c>what we know about mike pence is that he led a direct, massive and concerted effort in the state of indiana to deny equality to l.g.b.t. people,<u+201d> ms. carey said. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not like trump didn<u+2019>t know who he was.<u+201d> as governor of indiana, mr. pence opposed gay marriage and signed into law a bill that made it legal for businesses to cite religious freedom when refusing service to gay and transgender people, for example a bakery that refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. as a member of congress, mr. pence voted against employment nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people and also voted against the repeal of <u+201c>don<u+2019>t ask, don<u+2019>t tell.<u+201d> his opposition to gay rights goes back at least to his first congressional campaign, in 2000, when he opposed same-sex marriage and the nondiscrimination laws that protected l.g.b.t. people. he also argued for public funding of conversion therapy and said federal funding for h.i.v./aids treatment should be renewed only if the government could certify that no money went to <u+201c>organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the h.i.v. virus,<u+201d> according to an archived version of his campaign website . mr. brown called mr. pence <u+201c>one of the most anti-l.g.b.t. politicians out there.<u+201d> the divisive nature of mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign and his positions on immigration, muslim americans and women<u+2019>s issues also posed a threat to large numbers of gay and transgender people, mr. brown said. <u+201c>there is an enormous amount of fear and concern over what a trump presidency means for those of us who are also part of the immigrant community or muslim community or who look, think and believe differently than the folks he will be putting in charge of our agencies and our government,<u+201d> he said. news that mr. trump would be the next president of the united states inspired an early wistfulness for the obama administration among some leaders. ms. keisling called mr. obama <u+201c>a remarkable president for transgender rights.<u+201d> but the struggle for gay and transgender rights would continue, she said, even if the political climate drastically changed. she said she had faith in <u+201c>the strength and resilience of transgender people.<u+201d> "we are going to keep working to advance policy,<u+201d> ms. keisling said. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re going to fight like hell to keep existing policies, and we are going to win more than we are going to lose.<u+201d> a version of this article appears in print on november 11, 2016, on page p9 of the new york edition with the headline: trump win seen as <u+2018>devastating loss<u+2019> for gay and transgender people. order reprints | today's paper | subscribe
trump victory alarms gay and transgender groups
liam stack