March 25, 2021
Today I attended a Zoom event called “U.S. Support for LGBTI Rights Abroad from Obama to Trump.” Dr. Cynthia Burack, a feminist political theory and sexuality studies professor at OSU, shared information about LGBTI rights and how support for the group has changed over time. I was surprised to hear that when Trump took over office, the U.S. did not pull out of international agreement to have and protect SOGI rights. I also didn’t know what SOGI rights were prior to this event, and I learned that they are “laws that ban disagreement on LGBT issues by enforcing a sexual orthodoxy and treat reasonable actions as discriminatory.” I would have expected Trump to disagree with these rights based on his religious views, but there was actually more stability than change in this area during his presidency.
As someone in this group, I felt a little hopeful after this event. I liked how Burack noted the stability here from president to president. Of course, while Obama was president gay marriage was legalized and Trump’s views seemed very opposite, so learning there was more similarities than I thought was shocking but slightly comforting. Overall this was an interesting topic that I now know a little more about. I will use this knowledge in my study of further laws in this area, and other areas as I continue preparing for law school.