LGBTQ Christians crusade against Trump's religiously 'hostile' policies during Holy Week
As Christians across the country celebrate Holy Week, a group of LGBTQ+ faith leaders gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to reject President Donald Trump's "anti-LGBTQ+ legislation." And one religious leader told Fox News Digital the Trump administration is "the most hostile administration to religion in recent memory."
Attendees at the Collective of Queer Christian Leaders event Monday claimed Trump had not only targeted the LGBTQ+ community but faith leaders.
"We've seen a series of attacks on faith leaders," Guthrie Graves, an ordained Baptist deacon, told Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital. "For instance, Bishop Mariann Budde, the bishop in the Episcopal Church of Washington, spoke about mercy for LGBTQ people and immigrants during the inaugural prayer service. And then, even at a very humble plea for mercy, President Trump lashed out at her."
In a Truth Social Post, Trump called Budde a "Radical Left hard line Trump hater" and accused her of politicizing his inaugural prayer service by asking him to "have mercy" on LGBTQ+ children who are "scared."
"As the Collective of Queer Christian leaders, our message today was to let LGBTQ+ communities and individuals know that they are not alone. We are not alone. We're in this together. We wanted today to speak out against the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation as well as the executive orders coming out of this current administration," said Ryan Henderson, who attended Monday's event.
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Trump, on his first day back in the Oval Office, issued an executive order establishing only two sexes, male and female.
And Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a lawsuit Wednesday against the state of Maine for allowing transgender women to continue playing women's sports.
Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills has refused to comply with Trump's executive order restricting biological men from playing girls and women’s sports. Nearly two months ago, Trump and Mills sparred during a bipartisan meeting of governors at the White House, during which Trump promised Mills he'd see her "in court."
Many attendees told Fox News Digital that transgender people, in particular, are "under attack." And Haley Warner of the Belong Collective, an LGBTQ+ inclusive church, advocated for a "full embrace from the church, from the arms of God" and to speak out against "what's being done by the far-right in the name of God."
Sunu Chandy, a senior advisor at Democracy Forward, a legal organization that advocates for the advancement of democracy through policy engagement, said rights "need to be fought for in the courts, in the faith communities, in the streets, to make sure that our trans siblings, in particular, are uplifted in this time.
"What's incredibly clear is that we are in the midst of a certain level of unprecedented attacks against the LGBTQ+ community, wherein the rights that my ancestors fought so hard to gain are now not only under attack, but are actively being rolled back," said the Rev. Don Abram, founder of Pride in the Pews.
Another attendee, Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, an LGBTQ+ justice organization within the United Methodist Church, emphasized the importance of faith leaders standing united during this "critical time."
"We have a collective voice that is louder than the voice of any one of us," Lawrence said.
While the Trump administration was called "the most hostile administration to religion in recent memory" during Monday's event, Trump's new White House Faith Office announced a robust Holy Week schedule to celebrate Easter.
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment by deadline.
Last year, President Joe Biden proclaimed March 31, which fell on Easter Sunday, Transgender Day of Visibility to show "transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong, and they should be treated with dignity and respect."