ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center has joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging executive orders aimed at diversity and LGBTQ+ issues.
The lawsuit, filed by Lambda Legal on Feb. 20, challenges three of the more than 80 executive orders President Donald Trump has signed since taking office on Jan. 20.
The targeted orders threaten federal funding related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs and deny the existence of transgender and nonbinary people.
"Bradbury-Sullivan feels the orders affect the center’s ability to help vulnerable LGBTQ+ community members."Erin Nucifora, Bradbury-Sullivan's manager of marketing and communications
Erin Nucifora, Bradbury-Sullivan's manager of marketing and communications, said the orders affect the center’s ability to help vulnerable LGBTQ+ community members.
The Allentown-based organization provides educational resources, health guidance, event programming, community groups and more to LGBTQ+ adults and youth across the Lehigh Valley.
According to its most recent impact report, the center reached more than 66,000 people through health events, attended 22 pride festivals and had 605 individuals attend at least one of 16 community groups.
'A natural fit'
Nucifora said transgender members of the Bradbury-Sullivan community are worried about the effects the executive orders will have on their lives.
“People are just afraid they’re not going to be able to have access to health care or [be] able to get a job or just simple things like that,” Nucifora said.
She said Lambda Legal approached the center with the opportunity to join the suit.
“We joined just because, obviously, the executive orders are attacking community members of ours. We believe that this is doing everything in our power to serve the needs of our community.”Erin Nucifora, Bradbury Sullivan's manager of marketing and communications
The nonprofit Lambda Legal has primarily focused on LGBTQ+ cases since the early 1970s and had a significant role in Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage across the United States in 2015.
Lambda Legal has also sued the Trump administration in the past.
Nucifora said joining was a “natural fit.”
“We joined just because, obviously, the executive orders are attacking community members of ours,” she said. “We believe that this is doing everything in our power to serve the needs of our community.”
Nucifora said joining the suit has been a way for the center “to fight back” against what it views as discriminatory attacks.
'You can't shut us up'
The other eight plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit come from states across the country. Like Bradbury-Sullivan, the organizations are mainly dedicated to various aspects of LGBTQIA+ advocacy.
“We’re here, we’ve always been here. Trans people have always existed, the queer community has always existed, and you can't shut us out. You can't shut us up, either."Erin Nucifora, Bradbury Sullivan's manager of marketing and communications
Bradbury-Sullivan in 2020, during President Trump’s first term, also was involved in a lawsuit to restore non-discrimination protections to the Affordable Care Act.
This time, Nucifora said, she wants the lawsuit to show people the center will not back down and will continue to support its members.
“We’re here, we’ve always been here," she said. "Trans people have always existed, the queer community has always existed, and you can't shut us out. You can't shut us up, either."
