No, Trump did not revoke a “LGBT” policy

The lead headline in today’s Washington Post (paper edition) declares: “Trump revokes LGBT policy.” The Post is referring to the revocation of federal guidelines insisting that transgender students have the right to use public school restrooms that match their identity.

But the policy in question, as the Post’s description of it makes clear, is a “T” policy. It does not affect the lives of members of the other three categories encompassed by “LGBT” any more than it will affect other lives.

It is probably true, as the Post says, that the policy being revoked has become a matter of central concern of LGBT activists. But that doesn’t make it a LGBT policy.

Labor unions push for policies that don’t have anything to do with collective bargaining or working conditions. At times, most notably during the Cold War, the AFL-CIO has been deeply concerned about American foreign policy. But that didn’t make U.S.-Soviet relations a labor issue.

It’s clear what the Washington Post wants to do here. It wants to adopt the narrative of LGBT activists. It wants to portray the Trump administration as anti-gay, lesbian, and bisexual. It wants to make the revocation of the bathroom rule look far more sweeping and portentous than it actually is.

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