On Feb. 20, 2025, "Meeting the Moment: Civil Liberties and the LGBTQ+ Community" took place at Eastern Michigan University.
The event included a speech from guest speaker Jay Kaplan and an opportunity for audience members to ask questions. Kaplan is the staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan’s LGBTQ+ project. He has worked with the ACLU of Michigan’s LGBTQ+ project since it was founded in 2001.
The event was the second part of the Meeting the Moment series hosted by EMU’s Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, which aims to help community members understand how recent federal actions, such as executive orders, may impact them. The Feb. 20 event focused on executive orders that impact LGBTQ+ individuals.
Meeting the Moment is intended to foster a conversation about the current political climate, not act as a representation of EMU’s view on recent actions or EMU policy.
Kaplan focused on Executive Orders 14148, 14168, 14183, 14187, 14190 and 14201 in his speech, explaining what each of those executive orders aims to do and how each might affect people, particularly trans individuals.
Executive Order Explanations:
Executive Order 14148 has rescinded many previously existing executive orders, including Executive Order 13988, which prevented discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
Executive Order 14168 states that federally issued identification documents, such as passports, must reflect an individual’s assigned sex at birth. It also prevents federal funding for prisons from being used for gender-affirming care and states that trans women must be housed in men’s prisons.
Executive Order 14183 restricts trans individuals from enlisting and serving in the U.S. military.
Executive Order 14187 restricts federal funding from being used to provide gender-affirming care for people younger than 19.
Executive Order 14201 prevents trans women from playing on women’s sports teams.
Executive Order 14190 restricts federal funding for schools that support their trans students’ social transitions, which includes things such as using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.
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Kaplan also explained that executive orders are policy directives, not laws.
“An executive order can’t usurp other laws that are already in place, including our state civil rights laws,” said Kaplan.
Legal organizations such as the ACLU are filing lawsuits against some of the executive orders recently introduced by the Trump administration. In some cases, judges have issued Temporary Restraining Orders, which are limited periods in which a certain policy cannot be implemented.
Kaplan also talked about actions that people who are upset about recent executive orders can take.
“Let people know where you stand… use your voice. Make it clear that you think this is wrong,” said Kaplan. He gave examples such as posting to social media, calling or emailing your representatives and attending town hall meetings.
“This is not the world I believe in… as long as I have any breath in my body I’m going to… stand up against this kind of stuff,” Kaplan said, when discussing the current political and social climate.
Kaplan ended his speech by asking people to take care of themselves and participate in activities that bring them happiness.
“I think some of the people behind all this would like you… to feel that there’s no sense of joy… We can’t let that happen… Anything that fills your soul, keep on doing that,” said Kaplan.
