Donald Trump ran a campaign centering anti-LGBTQ+ hate, and he has made it clear that his Administration plans to enact a range of anti-LGBTQ+ policies during their time in office. LGBTQ+ community members are rightfully anxious about what’s to come.
We also know that LGBTQ+ people hold intersectional identities and care deeply for folks of other marginalized identities. We are people of color, immigrants, working class, disabled, youth, and elders. During this difficult time, we want to offer information and resources to help you prepare for what’s to come, drawn from LGBTQ+ and other movement leaders. Here in the South, our communities have been facing the current wave of anti-LGBTQ+ policies for years, and folks on the margins have been fighting against oppression throughout our country’s history. Despite these circumstances, we have always found ways to survive, be joyful with one another, and thrive in the face of tremendous challenges. The list below offers practical recommendations for steps you can take to prepare, or things you may want to consider addressing prior to the Trump Administration.
Beyond considering these steps, we hope you are taking the time to connect with your community; looking to those around us and those who came before us who inspire our fight. We encourage you to connect with local LGBTQ+ organizations in your community – if you aren’t familiar with any, our Trans Youth Emergency Project partners list and The CenterLink LGBTQ Community Center Member Directory are great places to start looking. Chapters of PFLAG and Transparent can be a helpful place to identify support groups for parents. During difficult times, we also find it helpful to look back on our LGBTQ+ history. Learning how our ancestors survived and thrived in difficult times can remind us of our power. If you would like to get involved with learning and preserving LGBTQ+ history in the U.S. South, connect with Invisible Histories, an organization working to archive LGBTQ+ Southern histories.
For transgender people…
- Obtain or update your passport. Having a passport is essential should you need to travel internationally, so one way to be prepared is ensuring you have an updated passport. Right now it is fairly straightforward to update your gender marker on your passport to F, M, or X (designating a nonbinary or gender-nonconforming identity). Updating the gender marker may be more challenging under a Trump administration, so consider updating your passport (valid for 10 years for adults and 5 years for people under 18), now. Put some careful consideration into the X gender marker on a passport: The Trump administration might have the authority to invalidate X passports, complicating foreign travel – and aside from that, having an X on your passport could “out” you when you use it. Be sure to consider the potential risks and exposure of the X gender marker. Click here to start the process of obtaining or updating your passport.
- Update your social security office gender marker. The Office of Social Security has a gender marker on file for everyone with a social security card. Right now, there is a fairly simple process for updating your gender marker with the Office of Social Security. Click here to start the process.
- Update state documents and IDs. Currently, most states have a process for transgender people to change their name and update their name and gender marker on state ID and other documents (like birth certificates). This could become more difficult in the future, as the Trump administration could use laws like the Real ID Act to eliminate the option to update state ID gender markers. In preparation for these potential challenges, transgender people may want to consider making these changes now. To learn about your state’s policies around updating names and gender markers on IDs and other documents, visit the Movement Advancement Project’s page on Identity Documents Laws and Policies. For guidance about how to update your name and gender marker on your ID in your home state, check out A4TE’s ID Documents Center
- Maintain a supply of gender-affirming medication, in anticipation of interruptions to gender-affirming healthcare access. There are many ways the Trump administration and conservative state governments could further restrict gender-affirming care access for youth, and restrict access for adults. According to Erin Reed, a transgender journalist dedicating to educating the public about transgender legislation and life, “For individuals, practical methods to maintain a medication supply include underdosing to build an emergency reserve, working with a physician willing to prescribe extra medication, or obtaining hormones through online sources, though it is important to note that these steps are not without legal or personal risks.”
- Connect with a lawyer. If you have specific questions regarding updating your legal documents or anything else, connect with a lawyer. A4TE’s Trans Legal Services Network Directory is a good place to start looking. For more information about how transgender people can prepare for the Trump administration, read “Steps For Transgender People Preparing For Federal Crackdowns Under Trump” from Erin in the Morning. Advocates 4 Trans Equality has a new “Trans Legal Survivor Guide” that can help transgender people think about other considerations and steps to prepare.
For LGBTQ+ parents and families…
- Protect your legal ties to your spouse. The incoming Trump administration and increasingly conservative Supreme Court has made LGBTQ+ folks rightfully concerned about the future of the right to marry. There are things you can do to protect your legal rights as a couple, regardless of the future of marriage equality. These include creating medical documents about who you want to be able to visit you or make medical decisions for you if you or your partner is incapacitated, creating a will or other estate planning documents, granting power of attorney to your spouse, and more. Check out Resources for LGBTQ Families in A Post-Dobbs America from NCLR for more information.
- Protect your legal ties to your children. For same-sex parents, the options available for creating legal ties to children differ widely among states. In some states, the only available paths to legal parentage rely heavily on marriage. If you are an LGBTQ+ parent, take the steps now to ensure you and your partner have a legal tie to your child. To learn more, check out LGBTQ Paths to Parentage Security from GLAD Law and Mombian. For more information about the laws in your state, check out Movement Advancement Project’s page on Parental Recognition Laws and Policies page and report “Relationships at Risk: Why We Need to Update State Parentage Laws to Protect Children and Families”.
- Connect with a lawyer. If you have specific legal questions about your family, reach out to a lawyer. The LGBTQ Bar Assiciation’s Family Law Institute is a good place to search for a lawyer.
For people who could become pregnant…
- Educate yourself about how sexual and reproductive healthcare could be impacted by the Trump administration. Comprehensive abortion access is already blocked in half of U.S. states. Legal experts are warning that the Trump administration could effectively ban abortion nationwide, and make other reproductive and sexual healthcare difficult to access. Check out this resource from Guttmacher Institute to help educate yourself about how a Trump administration could impact your healthcare access.
- Stock up on Plan B, birth control, and consider long-acting reversible contraception like IUDs and implants. Access to affordable sexual and reproductive healthcare, including abortion and birth control, are at risk. It may be smart to build a supply of medication for the future, and is important to know the shelf life of the medications you rely on. Birth control and abortion medications do have expiration dates. Obtaining long-acting reversible contraception– like an IUD which provides birth control for three to ten years, or an implant, which provides birth control for up to five years, may be something to consider.
- Get to know your local abortion fund. Abortion funds help abortion seekers find abortion providers, travel to abortion providers, and pay for their abortion care. These organizations are a great source of information and support as we navigate the changing environment of reproductive rights. Find your local abortion fund using this tool from the National Network of Abortion Funds.
For immigrants…
- Know your rights. The Trump administration has made it clear that restricting immigration; including making asylum seeking harder, suspending the refugee resettlement program, detaining and deporting immigrants, ending DACA, attacking birthright citizenship, and more. Learn about these potential policies and restrictions, and know your rights. Check out this Know Your Rights Guide from the ACLU which outlines the rights guaranteed to all people in the U.S. regardless of immigration status.
- Secure your immigration status by renewing your visa, applying for a green card, or applying for citizenship. If you’re on a temporary visa, make sure you’re aware of renewal requirements and start the process early if you’re eligible for extensions. For those who are eligible, starting the application process for a green card or for citizenship may help secure your resident status.
For everyone…
- Get yourself and your children vaccinated. If you or your children are not up-to-date on necessary vaccinations, now is a good time to talk to your doctor. Public health officials have warned that Trump administration leadership could affect whether and how residents of the United States get vaccines.
- Obtain or renew your passport, in case the need for travel arises.
- Keep copies of legal documents in a fireproof, waterproof safe. This includes things like birth certificates, social security cards, passports, marriage licenses, adoption papers, and immigration papers.
For those needing mental health crisis support…
- If you are thinking about hurting yourself, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now the 988 Suicide and Crisis Prevention Hotline), OPEN 24/7, 365 DAYS/YEAR.
- Call: 988
- Call: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
- Text: 741741
- Chat Online: Click HERE to instant message online.
- If you are a LGBTQ person (ages 13-24) who is thinking about hurting yourself or is in crisis, contact The Trevor Project’s 24-Hour Suicide Prevention Hotline, OPEN 24/7, 365 DAYS/YEAR.
- Call: 866 4 U TREVOR / (866) 488-7386
- Trevor Text: Text ‘START’ to 678-678
- Trevor Chat: Click HERE to instant message online.
- If you are a transgender person (or friend/family of a transgender person) in crisis or needing support, contact the Trans Lifeline, As of January 1st, 2024, Trans Lifeline’s hotline operating hours are Monday through Friday: 10 AM – 6 PM Pacific. 11 AM – 7 PM Mountain.
- Call: (877) 565-8860
- Peer to Peer Support: Peer2Peer.LIVE on Twitch
