I have been sitting on writing this post for days. Why? Because 1) I needed to calm my own panic-driven fears first, and 2) responding to President Trump’s actions is a game of practicing patience and waiting for the chaos to settle.
Just as a reminder, we are living in an increasingly dangerous but not insurmountable situation. Resistance movements have persisted and succeeded in the face of similar regimes throughout history and around the world. Together, we can think about strategies to apply in dire circumstances, all while learning from the brilliant movements that have overcome similar situations. And all of that starts with information and understanding.
What is an executive order?
An executive order is like a proclamation or a policy statement. It tells us what the president and his administration are going to try and accomplish. It points their efforts in a direction. Most of the time, further action is required to accomplish the goals set out in an executive order.
For example, if an executive order says “no trees can be taller than six feet,” it does not mean that trees taller than six feet with instantaneously stop existing. An executive order spurs things into motion. The hypothetical Landscaping Federal Agency drafts and proposes rules around the height of trees. While the (often years-long) rule-making process is happening, the grounds maintenance folks at the White House and at federal buildings might go around lopping off the tops of all the trees. The financial folks in the Landscaping Federal Agency might say they will not provide funding for private citizens to grow trees more than six feet tall. And private citizens who are so excited to make sure there are no trees over six feet tall might go chopping up their trees and their neighbor’s trees. Keep in mind, chopping up your neighbor’s trees still breaks the current trespassing and property destruction laws.
So, what does that mean for us in this current (outrageous and scary) moment?
Executive Orders Affecting Trans People
To be clear, most of the executive orders affect us all in one way or another because our existences are interconnected: we all live on this earth, in this environment, with each other. With that in mind, I will try and distill the ones that most directly affect us.
The Gender Executive Order. A grotesque policy statement that claims my life, and maybe yours, is not real or valid. However, saying it does not make it true. This executive order is impacting people’s ability to get federal documents, such as passports and social security cards, that correctly reflect their name and gender marker. It also affects federal employees, federal funding, and federal programs. It could have more effects down the road.
The DEI Executive Orders. Several have come out since last week. These are currently affecting federal employees, federal funding, and federal programs. They are wide-reaching and many people inside and outside of the government are trying to figure out how this is impacting us all.
The Military Executive Orders. These executive orders refer back to the Gender and DEI executive orders. One of the military executive orders aims to remove trans people who are currently serving in the military, which is likely the largest employer of trans people in the United States. Another executive order aims to remove DEI from the military, disrupting the fair treatment of many different people and banning crucial topics from military educational institutes.
All the rest. Other executive orders include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) limitations and prohibitions on funding for necessary national and international reproductive and HIV services; 2) declarations concerning protected speech versus censored speech; 3) removal of environmental protections and mandates to increase fossil-fuel based energy production; 4) pardons that make government-approved vigilante actions acceptable; 4) removal of federal employee protections for dissension; 5) mandates that the military and state law enforcement be used against immigrants; 6) destruction of refugee and asylum relief; 7) termination of citizenship for millions of Americans; and 8) mandatory application of the death penalty in certain circumstances.
These policy statements from our government are alarming and should not be minimized. People in our communities across Colorado are feeling the impact of these executive orders on their lives.
And we still have a few things going for us right now. We have a strong immigrant protection response team made up of everyday people like you and me who help protect our neighbors. We have a strong state government that will help us resist some of the worst consequences of the federal government’s actions. We have nonprofits filing for relief in the courts. We are working on creating parallel systems to decrease our dependence on our federal government to meet our basic needs, and we are working to make those systems more equitable than the ones we are leaving behind. We are a people with incredible skills, intelligence, and hearts. Get to know your local community and we can resist together.
This blog post represents the views and opinions of a guest author and may not be fully representative of Rocky Mountain Equality’s position.