President Donald Trump on Monday
responded to a report that his administration is considering a narrow
definition of sex which would exclude transgender people in civil
rights law.
(Related: Trump
proposed rule change would “define transgender out of existence.”)
First reported on Sunday by The New
York Times, a leaked memo calling on federal agencies to adopt a
biological definition of sex has stirred outrage among transgender
activists. According to a Washington
Blade report, more than 200 activists protested outside the
White House on Monday. The hashtag #WeWillNotBeErased quickly began
to trend on social media following release of the Times'
story.
(Related: Jazz
Jennings, Caitlyn Jenner respond to Trump's plan to end transgender
recognition.)
On Monday, Trump was vague in answering
a reporter's questions about the report.
“We're looking at it,” Trump
said. “We have a lot of different concepts right now. They
have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender
rights now. You know that as well as I do and we're looking at it
very seriously.”
When the reporter reminded Trump that
he had pledged to protect LGBT people during the 2016 campaign, the
president suggested that he was taking action in order to protect the
nation.
“I'm protecting everybody,” Trump said. “You know
what I'm doing? I'm protecting everybody. I want to protect our
country.”