President-elect Donald Trump (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Dear Mr. President,

That salutation will take some getting used to for both of us, for all of us really.

I asked last week on social media what LGBT Americans would say to you if given the opportunity. Leave it to gays, comments ranged from ‘smile more, and try tweeting less’ to the inevitable questions about your hair. But there were also some very serious questions and concerns surrounding your future in the Oval Office.

I wanted to approach you on your favorite medium. But, alas, that only allows for so many characters, and these columns have to be 500 words or I don’t get paid. So, here we are.

As a gay American, I can tell you, like so many other members of the myriad other minority groups in this country, I greet your presidency with extreme trepidation. That being said, I do wish you well. Simply because your success is also our country’s success. But, going forward, allow me to share some advice.

You don’t know us. But in all fairness, I feel like I hardly know us either. There’s just too many to know, and I don’t pretend to speak for everyone. In all shapes, sizes, colors, affiliations, backgrounds, genders, the queer community in America is as vast and varied as America itself. So, too, are the issues we face and the problems our various communities attempt to solve, issues such as fair housing, employment non-discrimination, the right of healthcare, or the bullying of gay kids, to name but a few. We’re not a one-trick-pony group, not that any segment of our population is. With more and more Americans identifying as LGBT, we and the issues we face will demand your constant attention.

The Civil Rights Movement is not to be spoken of in the past tense. By speaking of Seneca Falls, Selma and Stonewall, your predecessor in his second inaugural address alliteratively linked the ongoing and evolving struggle for civil rights in America. The look, the mission, the vision is constantly changing, and to refer to the movement as something confined to the history books would be a grave mistake. As indicated above, the LGBT struggle is far from over. Securing gay marriage may have been our greatest court achievement to date, it carried with it no magic wand to solve the issues such as those mentioned above. And know we are ready to link arms with anyone oppressed by future policies.

We’ll be watching. It was different with Stonewall. But it wasn’t so long ago, either. The drag queens and the queer people of color that threw the first bricks in protest had very little to lose. In America, public opinion can change fast, and that should be a warning to both of us. Your record on LGBT rights is spotty at best, someone could say nonexistent since you’ve never really held public office. But your No. 2 has. Mike Pence is extremely frightening to us. We have much more to lose now. But still more to fight for.

You often speak of American exceptionalism. Your predecessor did as well. He saw this exceptionalism as our greatest strength, and the diversity of this country one of our greatest assets. For us all, consider championing diversity as well.

Mr. President, I hope you do well, and I hope you do good.