LGBTQ groups supportive yet wary of Trump impeachment moves
LGBTQ organizations expressed their support on a possible inquiry into a Trump impeachment by Congress– but are wary speaking on the impeachment itself.
This was reported by Washington Blade after they sought comments from LGBTQ groups on the breaking news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had announced an impeachment inquiry.
President Donald Trump is facing the inquiry because he reportedly wants to give aid to Ukraine but only if the latter investigated possible presidential candidate Joseph Biden.
LGBTQ groups on the Trump impeachment
Most of the groups were supportive of the inquiry into the impeachment, but hesitant of issuing an official statement on the impeachment itself as of the present.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, expressed the view that they support the inquiry but didn’t say anything about outright impeachment.
Minter said: “We support Speaker Pelosi’s decision to initiate an impeachment inquiry based on evidence that the president may have engaged in unconstitutional self-dealing in his conversation with the President of Ukraine.”
Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBT Task Force, said something similar: “The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund is in full support of Congress doing its job and proceeding with the impeachment inquiry.”
Justin Nelson, president of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, said: “The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce is glad Congress is doing its job as a co-equal branch of government, following the facts wherever they lead.”
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Campaign issued a statement generally supporting the approach in the House.
David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, said: “The evidence in plain view raises deeply troubling questions that Donald Trump jeopardized national security to try to harm a political opponent.”
Other positions of LGBT groups
Annise Parker, CEO of the LGBT Victory Fund, said their organization’s lack of position on the issue is due to being outside their jurisdiction.
“We strongly believe mission creep is detrimental to the effectiveness of an organization and therefore do not have an official stance on impeachment,” Parker said.
However, she said that the eight of the openly LGB members of Congress that Victory Fund supported in 2018 support the impeachment inquiry.
Not surprising, the only LGBTQ group that had a different position was the Log Cabin Repubilcans, which backed Trump in the wake of the impeachment news.
Charles Moran, managing director of Log Cabin, said “He’s caused no impeachable offenses. The deeper they investigate, the more this harms Biden with his family’s entanglements, both in Ukraine and possibly China.”
The Log Cabin had earlier endorsed Trump for re-election in the 2020 elections.
Effects of the Trump impeachment
Washington Blade were not able to get the reaction of Lambda Legal and the National Center for Transgender Equality.
While the Democrats currently control the House of Representatives, the Republicans control the Senate, which would affect any impeachment moves.
Meanwhile, LGBTQ Twitter went to town with memes and gifs after hearing the news of the impeachment inquiry, with one tweeting: “Impeachment? Honey I’m gay this is the only peach I’m proceeding on.”
But even as most of them tweeted jokes, some mentioned the horror at the thought of having Vice President Mike Pence as president.
As one Twitter user noted, “When you get excited for the Trump impeachment but then you remember that next in line to be president is Mike Pence.”