TBT: Trump administration launches global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality

Under new law, Brunei citizens and even tourists could be stoned to death for being LGBTQ

NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today demanded that President Trump and his administration condemn the horrific new anti-LGBTQ laws implemented in Brunei, which would allegedly hand down the punishment of death by stoning simply for being LGBTQ. The Trump Administration previously announced in February a new worldwide effort to decriminalize being LGBTQ in all nations across the globe.

“It’s unconscionable that the President of the United States is silent while LGBTQ people in Brunei face death at the hands of their government simply for being who they are,” said Zeke Stokes, Chief Programs Officer at GLAAD. “How can the same administration that announced a global effort to decriminalize being LGBTQ remain silent in the face of this kind of violence and hate. Americans and our global community deserve a President who will stand up for human rights here and home and around the world, and President Trump is proving time and time again that he simply will not use his voice this way.”

President Trump’s silence, now more than a week following initial reports, marks the 100th time the President and his administration have attacked the LGBTQ community in policy and rhetoric. GLAAD has previously joined actors George Clooney and Ellen DeGeneres in calling for consumers to boycott all hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, which includes famed The Beverly Hills Hotel.

President Trump has long claimed since 2016 to be a “real friend” to the LGBTQ community, however, his administration’s actions do not follow his words. After Trump’s inauguration, the Trump Administration has issued more than 99 attacks on LGBTQ Americans both in policy and in rhetoric. The full list of anti-LGBTQ actions can be found on GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project (TAP) by going to www.glaad.org/trump.

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