Instigator / Pro
28
1499
rating
4
debates
37.5%
won
Topic
#2022

Trump has done more harm than good for LGBTQ+ Americans.

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
12
0
Better sources
8
0
Better legibility
4
0
Better conduct
4
0

After 4 votes and with 28 points ahead, the winner is...

Pendragon524
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
4
Time for argument
One week
Max argument characters
15,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
0
1468
rating
2
debates
0.0%
won
Description

Trump has on occasion attempted to appease both the anti-LGBTQ sentiments of the religious right and the more progressive and inclusive vision of mainstream America. However, on balance, President Trump has undermined efforts to afford equal rights to LGBTQ Americans. He has harmed far more than he has helped. Whether these actions have been justified (morally or legally) is a separate question that will not be pursued here. In this debate, we are essentially concerned with a morally neutral evaluation of Trump’s track record on LGBTQ rights. If someone disagrees with my judgement on that score, take up the debate!

transgenders are a different "breed" of people than gays

if it not a mental illness, please explain why half of them unfortunetaly take their life?

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@fauxlaw

That’s a nice bit of rhetoric and flourish, Fauxlaw, but you’ve misunderstood my stipulation on several counts. For one thing, it is not “essentially [my] argument that Trump's motives have not been justified.” I have deliberately not made that claim and will not do so in this debate. Moreover, adopting a morally neutral stance when outlining Trump’s impact on the LGBTQ community is not to remove “the very core issue” or the “turning point” of the debate. It is to focus our analysis on one set of issues in a much broader debate. Before one can determine if a President’s policies were morally reprehensible or praiseworthy, one must determine what, exactly, those policies were in the first place. Deciding whether Trump’s actions are justified (legally or morally) would involve complicated questions of constitutional interpretation, subtle issues of religious freedom versus a religious license to discriminate, and so on, and my mind is not made up on many of those questions. So, I reject your request to remove the relevant restriction.

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@Pendragon524

Your statement, "Whether these actions have been justified (morally or legally) is a separate question that will not be pursued here" is completely counterproductive to debating the issue since it is essentially your argument that Trump's motives have not been justified, morally or legally. Isn't that really the turning point of your proposed debate? To declare that it is not relevant, and will not be part of the debate takes the very core issue out of it. Nice surgery, Doctor, but the patient was not declared a surgical candidate in the first place. Remove that declarative statement in total, I'll be more inclined to debate.
Further, effectively opposing a "morally neutral" position, as Trump is accused of taking, will be an interesting justification for arguing that Trump has done more harm than good. Good luck.