LGBTQ+ Community Reacts To Biden Administration’s Early Directives

Local LGBTQ+ advocates with the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center in Tulsa said they're shocked by how quickly President Joe Biden’s administration is moving forward with directives to protect underrepresented populations. 

"Most of the time we take these types of campaign promises with a grain of salt,” Dennis R. Neill Equality Center director Morgan Allen said.

Allen said it’s been promises made and promises kept in the nation’s capital.

"What we didn't expect was that on the first day in office Biden would sign executive orders protecting LGBTQ+ citizens,” Allen said. 

Biden has rolled out several initiatives relating to the LGBTQ+ community since he's taken the oath of office. 

“This sends a very strong signal of relief, reassurance and promise and that's at all intersections of identity: P.O.C. (People of color), women, transgender people,” Allen said. “That says you belong in this country and you belong here.” 

This includes an executive order extending existing federal nondiscrimination protections to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, as well as directing agencies abroad to ensure U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ people.  

President Biden also reversed former President Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military.

Medical services director Alex Wade said this hit close to home for one of his clients who plans to enlist after graduation. 

"Seeing his face after being told, 'Oh, you can still join the military now. You won't be banned for this reason.' It was a big relief for him,” Wade said. 

Many female athletes worry Biden's executive order could allow transgender women to compete against them. 

In her experience growing up, Allen said sports are less about the competition and more about the camaraderie. 

Sports aside, she said it's encouraging to see diverse leadership on the national level, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Assistant Health Secretary nominee Rachel Levine, an openly transgender woman from Pennsylvania. 

"If we truly believe that we are a big, great melting pot of all different cultures, then we have to believe that we all need a place at the table in government,” Allen said. 

Allen said they've secured a seat in Washington. Now, it's time to focus on change at the city and state level. 

"We're here. We're not going away,” Allen said. “We're just as much a part of Oklahoma as everyone else."