ACT Up Tells Trump and GOP: Not In Our Name!

ACT UP NY along with leaders from Muslim, Latinx and LGBTQ organizations will rally in front of Trump tower in New York City against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's use of the recent massacre at a gay bar in Orlando to polarize Americans.

On Tuesday June 21, Donald Trump will meet with the leaders of multiple anti-LGBTQ hate groups in a cynical attempt to exploit homophobia, transphobia, anti-Muslim bigotry, and racism to overcome his historically bad polls and unpopularity with the majority of the American people.

"Just over a week after the slaughter of dozens of LGBTQ people at Pulse in Orlando, Donald Trump is seeking the support and the endorsement of groups who have -- for decades -- advocated hatred, discrimination, and violence against our community," said James Krellenstein, a member of ACT UP NY. "By continuing to embrace, rather than condemn these hate groups, Donald Trump and the Republican Party are spitting on the victims of the Orlando Massacre."

Instead of advocating for policies that would actually improve the safety, health, civil rights, and livelihood of all communities, Trump has chosen to meet and seek the support of religious extremists who have supported and defended legislation such as Uganda's infamous "Kill the Gays" bill. All the while, he uses the recent violence against the LGBTQ community as an excuse to advocate for discrimination against American Muslims.

"The LGBTQ community is a rainbow coalition of races and religious beliefs. While we stand united against any kind of religious bigotry, we will not stand silent while our Muslim LGBTQ brothers and sisters continue to be targets of hate speech," said Tom Blake, another member of ACT UP NY.

According to the FBI, sexual orientation was the motivation for approximately 20 percent of hate crimes in 2013. The majority of those crimes were committed by white extremists or "average Americans," not Islamic fanatics, as Donald Trump might want the public to believe. The Pulse attack specifically targeted the Latinx community. According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the majority of homicides against LGBTQ people in the United States from 2010-2015 were committed against black or Hispanic transgender people.

ACT UP NY (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) is a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis.

For more information, visit http://www.actupny.org/