Harrowing stats show that compassion and understanding is needed for transgender people While there have been dramatic changes regarding the acceptance of LGBT lifestyles, the support of transgender people has a long way to go. Gerry O’Shea Addthis There has been a dramatic change in public attitudes to the gay lifestyle in the last 70 years. For example, in the 1950s President Eisenhower declared that homosexuals were a danger to national security and so should not be employed by the government. By comparison, in the Biden administration, Pete Buttigieg, a married gay man, was confirmed by the Senate for the important cabinet position of Transportation secretary and, indeed, he had been a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.