US gays alarmed at Trump win in New Hampshire
America’s Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has expressed alarm at Donald Trump’s significant win in the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday night.
In a statement, the organisation – the largest LGBT rights group in the country – warned that a Trump presidency would be disastrous for the LGBT community.
“Donald Trump has pandered his way to the top of the field by opposing the most basic protections for LGBT people and supporting Kim Davis-style discrimination against LGBT people,” commented HRC President Chad Griffin.
“What’s more, despite being married three times himself, this is a candidate who says he looks forward to appointing justices who would overturn marriage equality for loving same-sex couples.”
Trump recently pledged on Fox New Sunday that, if elected, he would appoint justices who would reverse the landmark July 2015 Supreme Court decision establishing marriage equality nationwide.
“Donald Trump’s calculated efforts to use division, fear and bigotry to score political points is as dangerous as it is vile,” said Griffin.
The group urged voters to support Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton as “the candidate we can count on to defeat Trump – or whichever one of these backwards anti-LGBT candidates emerges as the Republican nominee.”
In January, HRC announced its endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president. Clinton, however, is struggling to secure the Democratic party nomination. On Tuesday night, she lost out in the primary to fellow Democrat Bernie Sanders.
While both have expressed a commitment to LGBT equality, fears have been expressed that if Sanders ends up running against Trump in the elections, his policies may seem too ‘socialist’ for the majority of Americans; thus possibly boosting Trump’s chances of winning.
I fear Trump less than I fear the numbers of people who support him. Whether stupid & maleable or fascist and maliscious, they are very dangerous.
My hope is that he will fizzle as did Sen Joe McCarthy in the 1950’s as the essential decency of Americans wins through.