WASHINGTON, D.C. (WordNews.org) Feb. 1, 2017 – President Donald Trump received mixed grades from evangelicals yesterday: Mostly an A+ for his selection of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court and an F for his decision to keep in place former President Barack Obama’s executive order “imposing the LGBTQ agenda on federal contractors,” as described by Liberty Counsel.

The White House press release from his press secretary’s office stated, in part: “President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election.”

Liberty Counsel, in response, said: “There is no federal employment statute that includes ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity.’ Congress has repeatedly rejected efforts to amend federal employment law to include ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity.'”

The order was signed by former President Obama in 2014 and, according to Liberty Counsel, “imposes the LGBTQ agenda in the employment context for federal contractors.”

“President Trump should not continue to impose Obama’s bad executive order that goes far beyond federal law,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The fluid and subjective term ‘gender identity’ does not prevent discrimination in the work place but rather injects in the workplace an agenda that is harmful to businesses and to other employees. Such a policy opens women’s restrooms to men. To force businesses to be at the mercy of a person’s subjective and changing thoughts or be forced to allow those with ill intent to cause harm is absurd.”

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) also condemned Trump’s decision and raised concerns about his future decisions on this issue.

“This is the first sign we have that President Trump will be triangulating on homosexuality versus abortion. As exhilarated as we were to watch the Trump administration confidently and boldly stand for the protection of the unborn at the March for Life, we are now deeply disappointed that Mr. Trump has chosen to defend false LGBTQ ‘rights’ based on changeable homosexual and gender-confused behaviors,” said Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH president.

“We understand that in many ways, Trump’s non-action in accepting Obama’s 2014 pro-LGBTQ executive order echoes the compromised culture. It might even be a politically savvy move to defend ‘gay’ and ‘transgender’ ‘rights’ while simultaneously being pro-life,” LaBarbera continued. “However, it also lacks principle, as genuine rights–which come from God–can never be based on sinful, changeable, unnatural conduct proscribed in the Bible. Furthermore, homosexuality, like abortion, is inherently anti-life.”

LaBarbera said Trump’s decision may be the result of his background but said it is not excuse for continuing bad policy and urged the faith community to speak up.

“We further understand that President Trump comes out of a New York City background in which he advocated for homosexual ‘rights.’ But to now use his bully pulpit to proclaim ‘rights’ and favored treatment based on a sexual sin and gender rebellion is wrong. …  No matter how powerful the new president is, he, like Obama, is utterly powerless to change God’s eternal moral law.”