In a bold move that reads like a legislative mic drop, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Becca Balint introduced the “No Place for LGBTQ+ Hate Act,” a bill that torches Donald Trump’s most virulently anti-trans executive orders. From banning trans troops to erasing gender diversity in schools and healthcare, the former president’s policies have been nothing short of a full-scale assault on queer existence. This bill is the Democrats’ way of saying: we see you, we’re not scared, and we won’t shut up.
Merkley didn’t mince words. “President Trump and Republicans are attacking our LGBTQ+ neighbors, friends, and family members by rubberstamping discrimination in every aspect of daily life,” he said. “As we mark Pride Month this year, we say ‘hell no’ to this hate.” Balint was just as sharp, making it clear that queer Americans won’t be shoved back into the closet with a signature. “Trump cannot take away our rights or our health care just with the stroke of a pen,” she declared. “No matter how much they try to erase us and our history, LGBTQI+ people are valued members of every community across this country.”
The bill, backed by a string of Democratic lawmakers and lone-wolf progressive Bernie Sanders, aims to make sure no federal funds are used to implement Trump’s decrees. These include reinstating the trans military ban, defining sex strictly as male or female assigned at birth, and essentially outlawing gender-affirming care and trans-inclusive education. In short, policies that erase trans, nonbinary, and intersex people from public life.
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups rallied hard behind the measure. The Human Rights Campaign’s Jennifer Pike Bailey called out the “unrelenting assault” from the Trump administration, saying, “LGBTQ+ people deserve the same dignity and respect as everyone else.” Advocates like Sinead Murano-Kinney and ACLU’s Ian Thompson added that these orders weren’t just harmful — they were unlawful and intended to render trans Americans invisible.
Let’s be real: these executive orders aren’t just dusty pieces of policy. They’re weapons in a culture war designed to vilify the most vulnerable among us. Denying kids access to sports, healthcare, and even the right to be acknowledged for who they are? That’s not governance. That’s cruelty with a government seal.
For queer Americans — especially trans youth — this bill is more than a headline. It’s a sign that someone in power is actually fighting back. It’s about survival, dignity, and the radical belief that everyone deserves to live openly, safely, and fully. Pride, after all, is protest. And in the face of bigotry masquerading as policy, this is exactly the energy we need.