Trump overturns Obama's order that bans contracts with companies without LGBT protections

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order cutting regulations, accompanied by small business leaders at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington U.S., January 30, 2017. | Reuters/Carlos Barria

President Donald Trump has revoked an executive order that prevents the federal government from entering into contracts with companies and non-profit organizations that do not have policies that protect LGBT individuals against discrimination.

On Monday, Trump signed an order that rescinded E.O. 13673 or the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order, which was signed by former President Barack Obama in 2014.

The order issued by Obama required companies receiving large federal contracts to demonstrate that they have complied with 14 federal laws, some of which prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Some have argued that revoking the 2014 order would make it harder to enforce the LGBT protections implemented by Obama for employees of federal contractors.

"It's sending a message to these companies...that the federal government simply doesn't care whether or not they violate the law," said Camilla Taylor, senior counsel at Lambda Legal.

According to Towleroad, Trump's order also affects E.O. 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. President Richard Nixon added discrimination based on disability and age while President Bill Clinton added sexual orientation. Obama's order added gender identity, and it also prohibited federal contractors from discriminating against their employees based on the said categories.

Some conservative groups welcomed the Trump's decision to rescind the order. Abraham Hamilton III, a public policy analyst for the American Family Association (AFA), stated that the president is fulfilling his campaign promise to protect religious liberty.

"American citizens should not be forced to abandon their faith in order to contract with the federal government. We hope this is an early indication that religious freedom protection will be a defining feature of President Trump's legacy," said Hamilton.

Travis Weber, an attorney with the Family Research Council (FRC), stated that the bigger concern with rescinding the order was more about cutting down red tape for businesses rather than LGBT issues. He noted that Trump had repeatedly vowed to cut regulations by 75 percent so that businesses would spend more time working and less time filling out paperwork.

"This will help keep jobs in America and bring others back to the country," said Weber. "Yet now that the president is fulfilling his promise, LGBT groups have somehow found a way to make this paperwork reduction all about them," he added.