They are in fact in the room with us right now.
4/26/24 - Biden/Harris administration incorporates latest rule to the ACA that includes protections on the basis of sexual orientation and improves pre-existing protections for gender identity, mandating nondiscrimination in health care and insurance coverage for LGBTQ+ Americans.
4/19/24 - Biden/Harris administration finalized a Title IX rule that clarifies the scope of nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity throughout educational activities and programs.
1/9/24 - Biden/Harris administration reverses Trump/Pence era “License to Discriminate” rules.
6/8/23 - Biden personally announces a series of initiatives that include efforts to protect queer and trans foster youth, improve access to mental health services for LGBTQ+ youth and address the rise in hate-fueled violence.
4/26/23 - Biden/Harris administration files lawsuit against the state of Tennessee, challenging the constitutionality of recently enacted legislation banning age-appropriate, medically necessary gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
2/7/23 - Biden uses his SotU address to encouraged Congress to pass the Equality Act “to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity.”
12/13/22 - Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act, one of the biggest legislative wins in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in over a decade, guaranteeing federal rights, benefits and obligations of marriages in the federal code for same-sex couples. The legislation also repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and affirmed public acts, records and proceedings should be recognized by all states.
8/4/22 - Biden/Harris administration declares Monkeypox a public emergency and wields federal power to ensure equal access in the distribution of vaccines and treatment.
3/21/22 - Biden/Harris administration takes steps on Transgender Day of Visibility to protect trans Americans that includes issuing passports with an “X” gender marker, streamlining identity verification during the travel experience and providing resources to transgender kids and their families.
And that’s just the last two years, without including any educational or research work done towards new policies or educating Americans about LGBTQ identities and politics, like displaying parts of the AIDS quilt in the White House or regularly acknowledging Pride, days of visibility, or other issues within the community.
You may be too young to remember this, but Biden was one of the first major federal-level politicians to support gay marriage, and he dragged Obama along kicking and screaming to the finish line. This administration is one of the strongest allies the LGBTQ community has had. Ever.
