LGBTQ Protections Have Been Nullified in the New NAFTA Deal – Do You Support the Move?

Update - December 3, 2018:

• President Donald Trump has added a footnote to the new trade deal with Canada and Mexico that nullifies a provision which would have protected LGBTQ workers.
• Canada had worked to get a provision saying that countries will "implement policies that protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of sex, including with regard to […] sexual orientation, gender identity.”
• But GOP lawmakers in Congress argued “a trade agreement is no place for the adoption of social policy" and denounced the provision as "insulting to our sovereignty."
• Now, a footnote has been added to the deal that effectively nullifies the provision. It says:

"The United States’ existing federal agency policies regarding the hiring of federal workers are sufficient to fulfill the obligations set forth in this Article. The Article thus requires no additional action on the part of the United States, including any amendments to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in order for the United States to be in compliance with the obligations set forth in this Article."

Countable's original story appears below.

What’s the story?

• A group of 38 Republican lawmakers have signed a letter asking President Donald Trump to remove protections for LGBTQ workers that are currently included in the new trade deal with Canada and Mexico.

“A trade agreement is no place for the adoption of social policy,” the lawmakers wrote in the Nov. 16 letter.

• “It is especially inappropriate and insulting to our sovereignty to needlessly submit to social policies which the United States Congress has so far explicitly refused to accept.” 
• The new trade deal currently includes a provision to protect against “sex discrimination" in the workplace—including discrimination on the basis of "gender identity.”

What are both sides saying?

• GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado, who led the effort on the letter, told Politico that the inclusion of LGBTQ protections could “cause a lot of people to reconsider their support of the trade agreement, and to the point that it may endanger the passage of the trade agreement unless something is done.”

“[I] would encourage others to be a no vote unless something is done. And things could be done within the agreement."

• Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), slammed the letter as “despicable.”
• “This despicable letter is more of the same from a Republican Congress with open contempt for the humanity of the LGBTQ community,” Hammill said.

“It enrages these GOP Members that LGBTQ Americans should be treated with respect and dignity under the law. They are on the wrong side of history, and come January, they will be on the wrong side of the newly-elected House majority.”

What do you think?

Should Trump drop LGBTQ protections from the NAFTA update? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / renaschild)