Brian Silva, the Executive Director of Marriage Equality USA, wanted to share the following in light of the recent election results: TAKE CARE OF YOU & EACH OTHER
Reach out to others to find community and share how you are feeling. It's important to take care of yourself.
Reach out to those who may be feeling overwhelmed with events from this week. Ask how they are doing. Give them a space to talk.
Participate in the Safety Pin Initiative: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/safety-pin-trump-brexit_us_58251b53e4b0c4b63b0c11a9
DON'T FORGET THE POSITIVE
80+ openly LGBTQ people were elected including the first openly LGBTQ Governor
It looks like Pro-HB2 NC Governor McCrory will lose his reelection fight
Multiple minimum wage and gun safety ballot measures passed
Despite the election result, the majority of the popular vote supported a pro-LGBTQ platform by an estimated 2 million votes!
MARRIAGE & FAMILY
Because of the contents of the Obergefell ruling, it is highly unlikely that marriage equality would be overturned. The process would involve replacing multiple SCOTUS judges, finding a case, and working it through the courts - something that would take many years (if at all). http://www.nclrights.org/now-that-trump-has-been-elected-can-our-marriage-be-undone/ http://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/post-election-faq
Because of precedent, anyone who gets married should not be in any danger of having those marriages overturned.
We do encourage you to move forward quickly with consulting with lawyers and organizations in your state about all options to secure all parents' rights via a parental judgement or second parent / stepparent / confirmatory (if in CA) adoption Remember a birth certificate alone is NOT always determinative of parentage!
Check to see where your insurance is from and if any LGBT provisions may be affected
TRANS ISSUES
Overall, the federal rights of transgender students and employees should remain secure as those are based on federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution. Any youth or parents who are concerned can contact Asaf Orr, NCLR Transgender Youth Project Attorney, aorr@nclrights.org; 415-365-1326 For more info and social media (coming soon): www.nclrights.org/alettertotransyouth
Get your ID documents updated - passport, state ID, social security, etc. now while choosing your gender marker is an option Changing gender marker on passport: http://www.transequality.org/know-your-rights/passports
OTHER ISSUES TO WATCH
Overall there are a lot of policies that will be difficult or impossible to overturn (for example U.S. Constitution and SCOTUS interpretations of it e.g. Obergefell). Our organizations will work to make sure that continues.
While Trump has said he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he has recently suggested he may only amend it, and any changes will take time. In the meantime, be sure you know whether your insurance plan is covered by the Affordable Care Act or other law and have a plan in case protections under the ACA are rolled back.
While not new, and we continue to fight them, we expect additional RFRA and FADA laws to be introduced at the state and federal level. This was a concern before the election and with the election results, has increased.
Issues that also disproportionately affect the LGBTQ community including immigration, religious freedom, women's health and reproductive justice will also be under attack. It is important that we stand together and support LGBTQ people with multiple identities and our allies.
Also anti-discrimination work at the state and federal levels
RESOURCES
Keep talking to others and sharing our stories!
Talking to Kids about the Election http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-should-we-tell-the-children_us_5822aa90e4b0334571e0a30b
ACLU - https://www.aclu.org/affiliates
NCLR - http://www.nclrights.org/legal-help-resources/ http://www.nclrights.org/legal-help/ Helpline: 800.528.6257
SPLC - https://www.splcenter.org/reporthate (report hate)
Lambda Legal - http://www.lambdalegal.org/help FAQ - http://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/post-election-faq
NEAT - www.theNEAT.org (phone bank for LGBTQ issues)