This article originally appeared in the Washington Blade. Trumps win requires us to organize, focus on protecting trans communityThese are frightening times for those of us on the target list of Project 2025, the blueprint for Donald Trumps second term that he secured in landslide fashion on Tuesday.Many of us are wondering how this could happen again. Kamala Harris is one of the most qualified presidential candidates to run in our lifetime. She ran against a 34-times convicted felon who staged an insurrection against the government and who faces a sentencing hearing in just three weeks for his crimes. A man who was twice impeached, who courts Vladimir Putins attention and approval, and who was found liable for sexual assault. Despite that last fact and Trumps bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade 44 percent of women voters supported him, far more than the polls and pundits predicted.Those polls turned out to be pretty accurate and Harris was brought down by lingering concerns over the economy and the toll inflation has taken on lower and middle class Americans. Sure, sexism, and racism played a role in this, but too many of us live in a bubble, insulated from the everyday concerns of disaffected blue collar Americans. While many of us crowed about last weeks Wall Street Journal lead story on the booming U.S. economy being the envy of the world, voters in the former Blue Wall states were struggling to put food on the table. When you cant feed your family, youre not going to vote for the incumbent vice president.So whats next? Weve seen this movie before. Trump will appoint a series of sycophants to run the government; he will undermine the federal workforce and try to fire as many longtime civil servants as he can. He will have a compliant GOP-majority Senate to rubberstamp his Cabinet and judicial appointees. He will probably ban transgender service members from the military on day one. The list goes on.The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors, Project 2025 begins. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity, diversity, equity and inclusion, gender, gender equality, gender awareness, gender-sensitive out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contracts, grant regulation, and piece of legislation that exists.Indeed, Project 2025 seeks to send us all back to the closet. But, as Harris rightly intoned throughout her short campaign: We are not going back.The good news and there is some is that voters for the first time elected two Black women to the U.S. Senate to serve at the same time, Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware. Sarah McBride becomes our nations first out transgender member of Congress. Shes a formidable figure and will be an important voice for trans equality in the face of Trumps inevitable attacks. At this writing, control of the House hasnt been decided. If the Democrats can manage to flip it, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a capable strategist, becomes the face of our resistance.We need our LGBTQ+ allies and advocacy groups more than ever. If you have the resources, donate to Lambda Legal and other legal groups gearing up for the many battles ahead, including over marriage equality. (Some more good news on that front, as California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 3, which will enshrine marriage rights in the constitution of our largest state.) Volunteer your time with your local equality group, especially if you live in a state like Florida with draconian anti-LGBTQ+ laws on the books.No one said being part of a social justice movement would be easy. Sometimes pioneers in these fights dont live to see the end of the road. Nows the time to double down on hard work, determination, and compassion, especially for the trans community, which sadly will take the brunt of the incoming attacks. Those of us who are a bit older need to reassure younger voters and activists that their efforts this time are not in vain. Harriss meteoric ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket and the incredible campaign she ran will make it easier for the next woman to run. That final, ultimate glass ceiling will fall in our lifetime.So for now, take a breath. Hug the dog. Take a walk in the woods, whatever you need to refocus. Four years is a blip and will fly by. The Democratic bench is deep. And the march toward full equality for our community is unstoppable. Setbacks are inevitable but we learned a long time ago that love wins. So fight on.The post Whats next for the LGBTQ+ movement? appeared first on News Is Out.