SAN ANTONIO –
After taking the oath of office, one of President Trump's very first steps of the transfer of power included the immediate change of the White House website. WhiteHouse.gov no longer includes an LGBT rights page, which has infuriated local advocates.
Before Friday morning's inauguration, one of the many WhiteHouse.gov pages was called "President Obama and the LGBT Community." After Trump was sworn in, the page was deleted from that web site.
"What a president does when they get inaugurated really speaks to what their priorities are going to be," said Chris Forbrich, Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio co-chair.
Forbrich worries that the new president's priorities don't include him. Stonewall Democrats is San Antonio's gay and lesbian political action committee, and for years, Forbrich and others in the committee have lobbied for equality.
"By deleting civil rights pages from the White House website, Mr. Trump has shown us he's going to be a president that governs much like he campaigns, not where he takes a fair and honest approach to every day people in their lives, but where he acts as a bully," he said.
Forbrich mentioned one specific reason he was upset to see the page missing. He said that page linked to resources for the “It Gets Better” campaign, helping those in the LGBT community struggling with thoughts of suicide.
"It's always difficult for young people to come out, and light has been shown on the issue of teen suicide for coming out. The White House should be a place for everyone, for all Americans," he said.
The webpages from Obama's presidency aren't completely gone. Just like the Clinton and Bush White House websites, President Obama's WhiteHouse.gov has been frozen, yet preserved. It's all now available at www.ObamaWhiteHouse.gov.
Former White House digital staffer Kori Schulman explained to CNN that "the incoming White House will receive the www.WhiteHouse.gov domain."
Schulman explained that it is common and even expected for new administrations to create pages reflecting their own policy priorities.
For example, Obama's former page outlining climate change is now called "An America First Energy Plan." The health care page detailing pieces of the Affordable Care Act has also been eliminated from the current webpage.
However, to Forbrich, the missing LGBT page carries the heaviest weight.
"Vice President Mike Pence has a record of rejecting LGBT rights," Forbrich said.
However, Forbrich said his nature as an American is to be hopeful.
"We were able to get marriage equality and an end (to) Don't Ask Don't Tell. Each of us have been able to exercise our civil liberties for so long to make a difference, and we hope that President Trump will do the right thing and allow equal minded legislation that exists to stay on the books," Forbrich said.
President Trump has publicly said he does not plan to change current marriage equality laws.