The six most significant presidents for LGBT Americans

For some, it’s easy to write off the influence of the president. Especially young people, who continually have the lowest voting turnout rate in the nation. But, these men who have held office have made some pretty significant movements towards the LGBT community, both forward and backward.

Dwight D. Eisenhower 
In 1953, not long after Arthur Vandenberg resigned, one of the presidents first acts was to issue Executive Order 10450, which denied federal government employment to anyone found to engage in “sexual perversion.” Which, of course, included homosexuality

“Many loyal Americans, by reason of instability, alcoholism, homosexuality, or previous tendencies to associate with Communist-front groups, are unintentionally security risks,” Dwight wrote.

More than 10,000 people lost their jobs as a result of the order. One of them was Frank Kameny, who became an activist and fought his firing all the way to the Supreme Court, but lost.

Ultimately, the U.S. Civil Service Commission lifted the order in 1975.

John F. Kennedy & Lyndon B. Johnson 
Back in 1963, black activists were pushing Kennedy to take action on civil rights. So Kennedy paved the way for a sweeping federal civil rights bill.

After his assassination, Johnson shepherded the legislation through Congress and signed it into law as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Originally, Title VII of the act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

In recent years, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have determined that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on transgender status. What this does, is allow trans people to sue over discrimination.

Th protections also extend to discrimination that arises out of gender stereotypes, protecting LGB Americans as well.

Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter, although no bills were officially passed during his presidency that would protect queer Americans, is one of our biggest allies that has ever sat in the Oval Office.

In 1978, on a visit to California, he urged voters to defeat Proposition 6, a.k.a. the Briggs Initiative, which would have barred gays and lesbians from teaching in the state’s public schools — and the proposition was indeed voted down. When he ran for reelection in 1980, he agreed to a gay rights plank in the Democratic Party platform, a first.

But, his advocacy didn’t stop when he left the office. Jimmy has been a prominent activists on many human rights issues. He’s also disassociated himself from the Southern Baptist Convention because of the denominations stances on the queer community and the unequal treatment of women.

Bill Clinton
In 1992, Clinton was a beacon of hope for queers all over the nation. But, after the elections, that hope was quickly replaces with a collective eye roll from the community that put so much faith in him.

Clinton’s efforts to end the ban on gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the armed forces met with strong resistance from military leaders and members of Congress. The battle ended with compromise legislation that became known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which was supposed to make the situation better but didn’t, as investigations and discharges of LGB military members continued.

In 1996, Clinton signed into law the Defense Against Marriage Act, which denied federal government recognition to same-sex marriages and allowing states not to recognize those performed in other states.

But Clinton was still one of the most progressive, despite his huge mishaps. In 1995 he signed an executive order officially ending consideration of sexual orientation in security clearances. He appointed the first openly gay U.S. ambassador, James Hormel. And the president backed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which still has yet to become law.

Barack Obama 
Obama has easily been the most queer-friendly president the US has ever seen. He’s passed laws that address hate crimes. He repealed “don’t ask, don’t tell.” He is working towards trans people servig openly in the military. The Affordable Care Act includes nondiscrimination provisions and provides services to queer people. He’s signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against workers because of sexual orientation or gender identity. And he’s appointed more openly LGBT people to offices and to the federal bench than any president in history.

Oh yeah, and we gained marriage equality under his reign.