As Trump administration announces gay rights campaign - here are eight anti-LGBT things the president has done

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The Trump administration has announced it plans to launch a global effort to end the criminalisation of homosexuality with a new campaign to be spearheaded by openly gay US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell.

The initiative, confirmed to NBC News by administration officials, will begin with a dinner in Berlin on Tuesday, where LGBTQ+ activists from across Europe will be tasked with coming up with a plan of action.

The goal is to push for decriminalisation in parts of the world where it is still illegal to be gay, such as a handful of nations in the Middle East and Africa.

In 2017, research by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) found that same-sex relations were still illegal in 72 countries and punishable by death in eight countries.

The new campaign will likely be carried out alongside organisations such as the United Nations, the European Union, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation.

However, while the Trump campaign is undeniably admirable, it comes in stark contrast to President Trump’s treatment of LGBTQ+ citizens and their rights in his own nation.

Since taking office in January 2017, Mr Trump has supported numerous anti-LGBTQ+ policies and withdrawn other protections for homosexual American citizens.

These are eight of the anti-LGBTQ+ things Mr Trump has done during his time as president of the United States.

1. In February of 2017, the administration withdrew guidance that helped public schools implement Title IX, under which discrimination on the basis of sex was illegal. The withdrawal left transgender students unprotected.

2. Donald Trump nominated judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court. Gorsuch previously wrote a dissent arguing against a ruling that required states to list same-sex parents on birth certificates.

3. In April 2017, under President Trump, the Justice and Labor Departments cancelled conference calls with LGBTQ+ organisations, which for years gave the LGBTQ+ community a voice.

4. On 26 July 2017, President Trump announced on Twitter that transgender individuals would not be allowed to serve “in any capacity” in the US Military.

5. The Trump administration attempted to expand circumstances in which federal contractors and private employers could cite religious freedom as a reason for discrimination.

6. The Department of Education said it would dismiss complaints from transgender students who were not allowed to use school bathrooms that matched with their gender identity, according to The Washington Post.

7. Under President Trump, the Justice Department rolled back protections for transgender inmates that were put in place by President Obama.

The new guidelines introduced by the US Bureau of Prisons would see inmates housed by their biological sex rather than the gender they identify with.

8. Mr Trump has repeatedly failed to recognise June as Pride Month.

Additionally, Karen Pence, the wife of Vice President Mike Pence, has recently returned to teaching at a school that opposes LGBTQ+ rights and refuses admission to homosexual students.

While the Trump administration’s push for the decriminalisation of homosexuality around the world is important, the president should consider advocating on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights in the United States as well.