The White House
Biden signs omnibus, reauthorizes VAWA with LGBTQ+ program
The controversial Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funding from covering most abortions, also made its way into the omnibus deal
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2022/03/Biden-signs-into-law-the-Consolidated-Appropriations-Act-2022.jpg)
WASHINGTON â By signing the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package Tuesday, President Joe Biden reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which will, among other things, create the first grant program dedicated to LGBTQ+ domestic violence and sexual assault survivors.
âToday we’re again showing the American people that as a country we can come together, as Democrats and Republicans and independents, and do big things â that our democracy can deliver,â Biden said at the White House.
The VAWA, which expired in 2019 due to partisan disputes, provides resources to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. The act was a top priority for Biden, who championed the legislation when it was first enacted in 1994.
In a joint statement last Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-Ny.) announced the inclusion of the VAWA in the larger omnibus bill, which will keep the federal government funded until September.
âFinally, this historic legislation will carry major bipartisan legislation that has been in the making for years,â they said. âThe Violence Against Women Act, expired for too many years, will finally be reauthorized.â
Last month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers â led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.) â announced they reached an agreement on the reauthorization of the VAWA. The legislation gained national attention, as actress Angelina Jolie worked with Congresspeople to promote the effort.
The reauthorization will create a grant program dedicated to expanding and developing initiatives specifically for LGBTQ+ domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, which Liz Seaton, policy director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, said was a first of its kind in an emailed statement to the Blade. The groupâs sister organization, the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, participated in a working group on bill language.
The reauthorization will also expand resources to other marginalized groups, like Native Americans.
âVAWAâs Tribal provisions will restore justice for Native communities and provide tools to keep Native families safe,â said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hi.), who worked with Murkowski to draft the tribal title of the reauthorization, in a statement.
Bidenâs signature on the spending package marked the first time in nearly a decade that the VAWA was updated, something advocates pushed for â saying it was necessary to meet the needs of the people the bill was supposed to protect.
The controversial Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funding from covering most abortions, also made its way into the omnibus deal.
Seaton called it âunjustâ and warned that it undermines âreproductive justice and the bodily integrity of women and LGBTQ folx.â
âThis is especially true for especially Black and Brown people, people dependent for their health and survival on federal monies, and people living in poverty,â she told the Blade in an emailed statement.
The spending package, which includes further military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, passed Congress Thursday.
Liz Seaton, Policy Director, National LGBTQ Task Force full statement:
âThe National LGBTQ Task Force announces that the bipartisan omnibus spending package President Biden signed today contains reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. From 2013 to 2019 when VAWA expired, it has prohibited discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity by those providing help to victims. While it does so much more, this Act creates the first grant program dedicated to expanding and developing initiatives specifically for LGBTQ domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. Our sister organization, the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, participated in a working group on bill language and advocated for its passage.”
“We must note that the omnibus package includes the unjust Hyde Amendment. It bars federal funding to cover most abortions, undermining reproductive justice and the bodily integrity of women and LGBTQ folx. This is especially true for especially Black and Brown people, people dependent for their health and survival on federal monies, and people living in poverty,â Seaton added.
âPassage of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 will help ensure even more resources and services are available to LGBTQ survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence,â said Beverly Tillery, Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, which coordinates NCAVP.
âThis legislation has the strongest-ever provisions to benefit LGBTQ survivors. While the LGBTQ community continues to experience a barrage of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ attacks across the nation, VAWA provides a brief moment of hope that we can and will continue to make important advancements for our community. This victory is the result of a strong coalition of advocates who have been willing to fight with and for the most marginalized communities in our country.â
âLGBTQ survivors of domestic and sexual violence deserve dignity and respect, especially when they are seeking critical services that can help them recover from violent situations,â said the Los Angeles LGBT Centerâs Chief Impact Officer and NCAVP Policy Representative Terra Russell-Slavin.
âThe reauthorization of VAWA, with the first-ever standalone grant program for LGBTQ survivors, sends a much-needed national message of support to LGBTQ survivors when our community is under attack in statehouses across the country. The Center is proud to have worked with NCAVP to help champion these efforts.â
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Biden signs into law the ‘Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022’ â 3/15/22:
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FULL TEXT: Remarks by President Biden at Signing of H.R. 2471, “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022”
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please — please, sit down.
Well, thank you, not only for being here but for what you did.
I want to thank the — Vice President Harris and the congressional leaders who are here today.
You know, in a moment, Iâm going to sign this bipartisan government funding bill. But with this bill, weâre going to send a message to the American people — a strong message — that Democrats and Republicans can actually come together and get something done — right, Nance? — and to fulfill our most basic responsibilities: to keep the government open and running for the American people, serving the American people, investing in your communities and investing in the American people, and doing it in a fiscally responsible way.
This bill also includes historic funding — $13.6 billion — to address Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine and the impact on surrounding countries. (Applause.)
Thank you.
Putinâs aggression against Ukraine has united people all across America, united our two parties in Congress, and united freedom-loving world. And this — and itâs an act with urgency and resolve that weâre doing right now that youâve provided me the ability to — to do.
I want to thank the congressional leadership for working so quickly to — to make sure we have the resources we need — economic, humanitarian, and security — to continue our forceful response to this crisis.
Weâve already committed more than 1 billion 200 million dollars in security assistance to the people of Ukraine just over the past year. And I — I know all of you know that; itâs preaching to the choir here.
But weâve been providing anti-armor — taking out tanks — air — anti-air capabilities directly — directly to the Ukrainian forces. And weâre also facilitating significant shipments of security assistance from our Allied partners to Ukraine.
With this — with this new security funding and the drawdown authorities in this bill, weâre remo- — weâre moving urgently to further augment the support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country.
And Iâll have much more to say about this tomorrow — about exactly what weâre doing in Ukraine.
We’re also going to be better positioned to provide for the rapidly growing humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people.
This war has turned nearly 3 million Ukrainians into refugees, with numbers growing every single day. And that’s on top of the 12 million people who require humanitarian assistance inside of Ukraine.
The United States is helping to lead the global humanitarian response with our partners in Europe and well beyond Europe.
In just the past few weeks, we provided nearly $293 million in humanitarian assistance to people in Ukraine and in neighboring countries.
Our experts are on the ground in Poland and in neighboring countries, where the Vice President just came back from, to make real-time assessments of a rapidly evolving crisis, to get urgently needed humanitarian supplies to the people in need now.
We’re airlifting emergency relief supplies into staging positions in the region — supplies like high-thermal blankets, water treatment equipment — so that they can be shipped into Ukraine.
We’re providing essentials like soap and laundry detergent — simple-sounding things — to refugees who fled with literally nothing but the clothing on their backs.
We’re working with partners to supply access to safe drinking water and to food rations to the people affected by this conflict.
With U.S. support, the World Food Programme has already purchased 20,000 metric tons of food to address the growing needs of individuals affected by this conflict.
It’s exceedingly difficult to get supplies into Ukraine while the Russian onslaught continues. But we’re managing to get supplies into Ukraine regularly thanks to the bravery of so many frontline workers who are still at their post. And we are supporting food assistance at refugee reception centers in frontline countries like Moldova.
With billions more included in this bill for new humanitarian assistance, we’re going to be able to quickly ramp up our response and help alleviate the suffering that Putin’s war is causing the Ukrainian people in the region.
This bill also provides necessary economic support for Ukraine and Ukraineâs neighbors that are impacted by this war — things like loan guarantees, direct financial support, including — including to address the needs like energy and cybersecurity.
This bill is also going to help face our — our challenges here at home. It sends a clear message to the American people that we’re investing in safety, health, and the future of Americans.
Let me just mention a couple of highlights, starting with community safety. We know what works to make our communities safer, and that’s investing in prevention and community police officers so that they can walk the streets, know the neighborhoods, and who can help restore trust and safety in the communities.
The answer is not to abandon our streets or to choose between safety and equal justice. It’s in funding — it’s in this funding bill, which we make sure we do both.
This budget invests in funding for agencies like the FBI and U.S. Marshals and the Drug Enforcement Agency, but it also includes funding for COPS programs to increase community policing and the ability of the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms tackle — to tackle gun crime. And it funds entirely new community violence intervention programs just at the Department of Justice.
Community violence interruption programs are programs where trusted community members work directly with the people who are most likely to commit or become victims of gun crimes. I had a chance to meet with those leaders in one of the programs in New York City not long ago. I saw the difference they were making every day.
We know these programs can dramatically reduce violence, and we’re going to fund a lot more of them.
This bill also includes grants for state and local law enforcement and crime prevention programs. We’re talking about drug treatment programs, school violence prevention programs, programs where people who might end up in prison and instead get mandatory mental healthcare that they need. Part of the saf- — before any crime was committed.
Part of the safety is the ability to feel safe in gender-based — from gender-based violence. I wrote a Violence Against Women Act with many in this room years ago — 28 years ago — to provide protection against domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and to support survivors and help them find a way out of those abusive situations they were locked into because they had no means to leave, with support for race cri- — rape crip- — crisis centers, as well as housing and legal assistance.
The law has saved lives, and that’s helped women rebuild their lives and make children a heck of a lot safer.
Today, with this bill, we reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act. For example — (applause).
For example, we’re doing more to help survivor — survivors in rural areas and in underserved communities. Tribal courts will now be able to exercise jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators of sexual assault and sex trafficking. And we’re providing more support for legal services and for law enforcement to get the training they need to help handle the trauma survivors are experiencing.
Now, Iâll have more to say about the Violence Against Women Act tomorrow as well.
And we’re going to be able to fund significant areas of common ground in this bill, especially in areas that I — that I called in my State of the Union address a âUnity Agendaâ — the things that we can accomplish together, Democrats and Republicans.
Two elements of that agenda are, one, beat the opioid epidemic and, two, take on the challenges of mental health, which have been exacerbated because of the COVID problem.
This bill supports opioid response grants that are funding that we provide to states to support opioid prevent — opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
We also included funding for states in support of mental health services, as well as additional funding for children’s mental health services, which has increased exponentially.
I’ve also called for increasing Pell grants to make colleges more affordable, and that is: Anyone making less than $50,000 a year, they’re eligible for a Pell grant. This bill delivers increasing the maximum Pell grant by $400, which will make a difference in a lot of lives.
Now, I would like to add a word about another investment this bill makes, one that I expect will pay dividends for hope, healing, and for our economy for generations to come. And it’s called ARPA-H — Advanced Research Project Agencies of Health. This will be a new kind of entity, an engine for innovation, a place where we’ll do high-risk, high-reward research that can drive unprecedented progress in biomedicine.
It’s based on DARPA, the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Project Agency, that has led to breakthroughs in technologies that protect our national security, like the Internet, GPS, and so much more.
ARPA-H will have a singular purpose: to drive breakthroughs to prevent, detect, and treat diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes, and other diseases.
And, by the way, we’re providing that we can — and we’re proving that we can invest in the American people in a fiscally responsible way.
Last year, the deficit dropped for the first time since 2015. It fell by $360 billion last year. And this year, it’s on track to drop by more than $1 trillion. After four years in a row of increasing deficits before I took office, we’re now on a track to see the largest-ever decline in the deficit in American history. (Applause.)
So let me close with this: Today, we’re again showing the American people that, as a country, we can come together as Democrats, Republicans, and independents and do big things; that our democracy can deliver — can deliver — and outperform autocracies; and that there’s nothing we can’t do when we do it together as the United States of America.
So I’d like to now invite up my Budget Director, Shalanda Young, and all the members of the Congress here today while we sign this bipartisan government funding bill.
Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
Speaker, there you go. Now, I know we usually hand out pens to everyone whoâs done this, but youâre all going to get a pen, but we didnât have 18 — 15 pens up here. (Laughter.) So Iâm going to make sure you get it when we finish.
SENATOR LEAHY: I wanted to make sure that my signature was legible.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it is (inaudible).
SPEAKER PELOSI: See how faint mine is and how dark his is.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I know. I tell you what, Nancy — (laughs) — anyway. Iâm going to give it a shot here, okay?
(The bill is signed.) (Applause.)
LEADER SCHUMER: All right.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
LEADER SCHUMER: Give the pen to Shalanda. Shalanda, you get it.
THE PRESIDENT: There you go.
MS. YOUNG: Thank you, sir. (Applause.)
The White House
White House press secretary defends administrationâs LGBTQ-inclusive Title IX policy
New nondiscrimination rules took effect last week
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During a briefing with reporters on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the Biden-Harris administrationâs expansion of Title IX to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Changes to the rules came pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Courtâs 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that LGBTQ employees are legally protected from sex-based discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The new policy, which took effect last week, also revokes Trump-era rules governing how schools must respond to allegations of sexual assault, which were widely considered imbalanced in ways favoring those accused of sex crimes.
Asked to respond to conservatives who warn the policy will harm women and girls, including the Republican state attorneys general who have filed legal challenges and the GOP governors who have vowed to disregard the new rules, Jean-Pierre began by stipulating that âthereâs still ongoing litigation, so I would have to refer you to DOJ.â
âMore broadly,â she said, âevery student deserves the right to feel safe. Every student deserves the right to feel safe in schools. Thatâs what the rule is all about: Strengthening and restoring vital protections that the previous administration took away.â
âEnding violence against women and girls has been a priorityâ for President Joe Biden not just during his tenure in the White House but also throughout his decades-long career in the U.S. Senate, the press secretary added.
âThis is an important step in an ongoing work to end campus sexual assault,â Jean-Pierre said. âThatâs what we want to see. And I cannot speak any further to the litigation.â
The White House
Emails show JD Vance’s right-wing, anti-LGBTQ pivot
Correspondences were between VP candidate, transgender law school classmate
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Written correspondence between U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and transgender attorney Sofia Nelson, a former friend and Yale Law School classmate, sheds new light on the extent of the Trump critic-turned-running mate’s right-wing, anti-LGBTQ pivot.
In about 90 emails that the Detroit-based public defender shared with the New York Times, which were largely dated from 2014 through 2017, the Republican vice presidential nominee emerges as a thoughtful and respectful debate partner who, in one instance, took pains to apologize for inaccurately referring to Nelson as a lesbian in his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
“I hope that you recognize that the description came from a place of ignorance, when I first started writing [the book] years ago,” he wrote. “I hope you’re not offended, but if you are, I’m sorry! Love you, JD.”
The two ultimately fell out in 2021 over Vance’s endorsement of an Arkansas bill banning gender affirming care for patients younger than 18. Then, as the author and attorney pursued his political ambitions, he firmly embraced the Republican Party’s anti-LGBTQ extremism.
In 2022, Vance came out against the Respect for Marriage Act, a law supported by 12 GOP senators that codified legal protections for married same-sex and interracial couples. Shortly after he took office the following year, when far-right U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) proposed a nationwide gender affirming care ban with criminal penalties for healthcare providers of up to 15 years in prison, Vance introduced the companion bill in the Senate.
The senator has also espoused anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, including in campaign appearances with Trump. On social media, he endorsed the “groomer” slur against opponents of laws criminalizing classroom discussion of matters concerning sexual orientation and gender identity.
Along with his vocal criticism of former President Donald Trump, which was well documented before he officially joined the 2024 GOP ticket on July 15, Vance’s positions on policy matters as reflected in the exchanges with Nelson stand in stark contrast with those espoused since his campaign for and election to the Senate in 2022.
For instance, Vance voiced support for “anything that puts cops back in the mindset of service and protection instead of control and coercion,” proclaiming “I hate the police. Given the number of negative experiences I’ve had in the past few years, I can’t imagine what a Black guy goes through.”
As Trump campaigned on proposals to stem immigration from Muslim countries in 2015, Vance told Nelson “I worry most of all about how welcome Muslim citizens feel in their own country.” Americans have always been susceptible to “demagogues willing to exploit the people who believe crazy shit,” he lamented.
In another exchange about the former president, he wrote “the more white people feel like voting for Trump, the more Black people will suffer. I really believe that.”
The White House
Biden âproudâ of his legacy on LGBTQ rights
President spoke with the Blade on the White House South Lawn on Tuesday morning
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President Joe Biden said he is “proud” of his legacy on LGBTQ rights in response to a question from the Washington Blade as he stopped to talk with reporters after midnight on Tuesday on his way back to the White House from the South Lawn.
“I’m very proud of my position,” he said. “I was the first guy to come out for gay marriage” in 2012 when serving as vice president under former President Barack Obama.
Biden’s remarks, during an interview with David Gregory on “Meet the Press,” hastened the administration’s embrace of same-sex marriage and led to Obama’s announcement days later of his support for marriage equality.
Also in response to the Blade question, Biden shared a story he has told since at least 2014.
When he was a teenager in the 1960s in Wilmington, Del., “My dad was dropping me off to get a license to be a lifeguard in the city,” Biden said. “When we get out of the car, two guys leaned in and kissed each other. I’d never seen that before.”
“I looked at my dad,” the president continued, “and he said, ‘Joey, it’s simple, they love each other.’ It’s simple. That’s my position.”
Biden was returning from a trip to Texas, where he delivered remarks to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act during a visit to the L.B.J. Presidential Library in Austin, followed by an event in Houston where he paid respects to the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who died from cancer on July 19.
Taking other questions from reporters, the president said he hopes his legacy for Gen Z will be the economy and the environment.
Asked when he would campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in her 2024 presidential bid, Biden said he had done so during his trip to Texas. On the question of whom he would support to run alongside Harris, he said “we’ll talk.”
The White House
Harris becomes the de facto 2024 Democratic Party nominee for president
Advocacy groups praise vice president, President Biden
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Less than three days after President Joe Biden announced his decision to step off the ticket and endorsed Kamala Harris to run in his stead, the vice president had emerged as her party’s de facto pick to take on the Republican nominee Donald Trump in November.
According to data from the Associated Press, by Monday 2,868 of the nearly 4,000 delegates who represent Democratic voters had endorsed Harris, well exceeding the 50 percent threshold necessary for her to lock up the nomination, which will be made official during the Democratic National Convention next month. The first ballots will be cast between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7.
âWhen I announced my campaign for president, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination,â the vice president said in a statement Monday. âTonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our partyâs nominee,” she said, adding, âI look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.â
Virtually all prominent Democrats whose names were floated as potential rivals quickly lined up behind Harris, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was tapped to co-chair the campaign, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay Cabinet member, who is considered a top contender to be her running-mate for vice president.
As of midday Wednesday, endorsements had come from over 90 percent of House Democrats, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as well as from every Democratic governor and every Democratic U.S. senator except for Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) (who was just convicted on charges related to an international bribery scheme and announced plans to resign from Congress.)
Also supporting Harris are major organizations that are allied with the party (limited, of course, to those permitted under FEC rules to endorse political candidates). Among them are major labor unions like SEIU and IBEW, advocacy shops like Emily’s List and Gen Z for Change, and civil rights groups like UnidosUS and the Human Rights Campaign.
And in a signal of the popularity of a reconfigured Democratic ticket led by the vice president, her campaign announced that a record breaking sum in excess of $100 million was raised between Saturday afternoon and Tuesday morning with mostly small-dollar contributions from 1.1 million supporters, 60 percent of whom were first-time donors.
The journey toward Harris’s nomination began with the president’s shaky performance against Trump during the televised CNN debate on June 27, which led to a chorus of calls for the 81-year-old to step aside as polls showed he had no clear path to winning the race.
By and large, the Democratic donors, celebrities, and elected officials who pushed for a new ticket did so despite their admiration and affinity for Biden and respect for his record as president. Within the party and beyond, his decision to walk away was celebrated as a patriotic sacrifice of personal ambition for the good of the country.
After Biden backed Harris, she visited campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., on Monday, where she delivered remarks about how she will parlay her experience as a prosecutor who went after âpredatorsâ and âfraudstersâ into her work arguing the case against Trump and ultimately defeating him in November.
Harris also reaffirmed her loyalty to and kinship with Biden while reassuring campaign staff, who had just weathered â by far (at least, so far) â the rockiest period of the 2024 cycle.
âI know it’s been a rollercoaster, and we’re all filled with so many mixed emotions about this,â she said, adding, âI just have to say: I love Joe Biden.”
The president, who was isolating and recovering from COVID-19 at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., called in to the event with words of support and encouragement for the team and for Harris, to whom he said, âI’m watching you, kid,” and “I love ya.”
The next day, Harris headlined a rally in the key battleground state of Wisconsin, where the reception she received was widely described as palpably energetic and enthusiastic, especially when compared to similar campaign affairs prior to the vice president’s emergence this week as the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Putting aside voters’ apparent enthusiasm for her candidacy, the massive uptick in fundraising dollars, the rapid coalescence of support for her nomination from virtually the entire Democratic Party along with the various affiliated interests and entities, and the deftness with which she navigated an especially fraught conflict of which she was in the very center both personally and politically, any lingering questions about whether Harris has the full suite of skills and attributes of a top-tier candidate for national political office may have dissipated with her performances in these and other recent public appearances.
If, in fact, they persist, concerns about Harris’s ability to rise to the occasion largely stem from her 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign, which folded ahead of the Iowa caucuses amid criticism that the California Democrat failed to articulate a cohesive and authentic message about her reasons for running and her vision for America.
As San Francisco Chronicle Washington Correspondent Shira Stein said during Jake Tapper’s CNN program on Tuesday, Harris has sharpened her skills as a politician over the past four years as she has served as vice president.
The political landscape has also shifted in ways that seem more broadly favorable to her candidacy in 2024. For example, voters might be more receptive to a nominee who built her career as a smart-on-crime prosecutor now that conversations about justice in policing are less salient than they were in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder while concerns about public safety are now more ascendant.
The 2020 campaign aside, to the extent that Harris may have other handicaps â missteps while in office, controversial elements of her prosecutorial record, her perceived shortcomings as a candidate â they are, largely, already known, Stein said. “She’s been in political life for quite a long time.”
Far less clear is what the polls will look like over the months ahead as Harris reintroduces herself to voters and the dust settles from recent events that have caused tremendous upheaval in the 2024 race, including Biden’s departure from the ticket.
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LGBTQ groups and leaders back Harris while thanking Biden
In written statements and public remarks over the past few days, LGBTQ leaders and organizations highlighted Biden and Harris’s records advancing rights and protections for the community, touted their administration’s legacy as the most pro-LGBTQ in history. (Washington Blade editor and co-owner Kevin Naff published an op-ed Wednesday titled, “Joe Biden, our fiercest ally“.)
They voiced confidence in Harris’s vision for building on that progress over the next four years and chronicled the ways in which she â in her roles as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, U.S. senator, and vice president â had a hand in many of the major milestones in the fight for LGBTQ civil rights that were won over the past few decades, from the legalization of same-sex marriage to ending the so-called “gay and trans panic defense.”
Several who spoke out to support Harris noted that she would be the first Black woman and the first South Asian presidential nominee to lead a major party ticket, having previously broken barriers throughout her career in elected office.
âWe are deeply grateful to President Biden for his more than 50 years of public service and his longtime support for the LGBTQ+ community,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said. “Todayâs announcement reflects what President Biden has done his entire career and will be core to his legacy: Putting the needs of Americans and his country above his own.”
“We owe the Biden-Harris team a debt of gratitude for leading the country out of a state of chaos and constant crisis under former President Trump,” she said. “And the Human Rights Campaign endorses the tough, formidable, and experienced Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Vice President Harris has the support of millions of Americans, as primary voters have already made the decision to put her on the ticket.”
Robinson said, âVice President Kamala Harris is a trailblazer and has been a champion for LGBTQ+ equality for decades: from leading the fight in San Francisco against hate crimes and her work in California to end the so-called gay and transgender ‘panic defense’ to her early support for marriage equality and her leadership serving as our vice president.”
âConvicted felon Donald Trump has already shown that he aims to destroy democracy and divide the country in his quest for power,” she said. “Vice President Kamala Harris is a true champion of unity and accountability â and will fight for a country where no one is above the law and ‘justice for all’ means something.”
HRC, Robinson wrote, “could not be prouder to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris and commit to channeling our resources and supporters to work to elect the first Black and South Asian woman president of the United States.â
LGBTQ+ Victory Institute President Annise Parker said her organization “commends President Joe Biden on leading the most progressive and inclusive presidential term in American history” under which “LGBTQ+ people have received a record number of federal appointments, including cabinet members, judges and around 14 percent of political appointments.”
“His dedication to supporting LGBTQ+ communities and championing pro-equality legislation and executive action has created the most inclusive and affirming administration our country has ever seen,” Parker said. “And, despite attacks on LGBTQ+ liberties in state governments nationwide, the Biden administration has reinforced its dedication to LGBTQ+ equality through action.”
“We are sincerely grateful for President Biden’s leadership, partnership and service to our nation,” she said. “We know we have a trusted ally in Vice President Kamala Harris who works tirelessly toward full LGBTQ+ equality.”
Noting how Harris’s identity would make her nomination historic for the party and the country, Parker said she “is an enthusiastic supporter of pro-equality policies and LGBTQ+ communities” and added that “the record-breaking LGBTQ+ inclusivity of the Biden/Harris administration will continue under Harrisâ leadership” while “the possibility that someone like Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg could be her running mate is monumental.”
“The prospect of a Harris/Buttigieg ticket would be a watershed moment in our decades-long efforts to make all levels of government more inclusive and could be the most historic Presidential ticket ever in our nation,” she said.
National LGBTQ+ Task Force Action Fund Executive Director Kierra Johnson said: âWe are grateful for President Bidenâs decades of service and allyship to LGBTQ communities â and for everything his administration has done to move our community forward.
“At this critical moment for our democracy and our freedoms, we have both hope and excitement for Vice President Kamala Harris and what she can do for our country. We fully expect a continued commitment to always putting our communities first.
We now recommit to moving forward in the democratic process, the upcoming convention and the November elections.
The Task Force action fund calls on LGBTQ+ people and our allies to take action and engage in the political process. Only through a show of voting power in the Nov. 5 election will we begin building the democracy we deserve.”
Gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who on Saturday became the 36th Democrat on Capitol Hill to call for Biden to exit the race, urged the president to hand “the torch to Vice President Harris as the Democratic Party presidential nominee.”
“It has become clear to me that the demands of a modern campaign are now best met by the Vice President, who can seamlessly transition into the role of our partyâs standard bearer,â he wrote.
Another gay Democrat in the California delegation, U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, told Lesley Marin of CBS News on Monday that “we’re going to unite behind Vice President Harris,” noting “the incredible record that she’s been a partner of,” which has included “lowering the price of insulin, infrastructure, investments in climate change, [and] her incredible work in protecting women’s right to choose.”
“At the same time, she’s a prosecutor,” Garcia said. “Look at her work as attorney general. She’s going to prosecute the case against Donald Trump.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), the openly gay chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, also spoke in support of Harris during an interview with CBS News Sunday, arguing that “She’s ready to win Wisconsin,” which is “one of those pivotal states” along with Michigan and Pennsylvania that “are on the top of the list” for Democrats to win in November.
Harris has “the energy to run around the state and do all the campaigning and show that contrast with” the Republican nominee who is “old” and “tired,” the congressman said, using an argument against Trump that has been rolled out by a number of Democrats following Biden’s withdrawal from the race on Sunday.
The vice president will be especially effective in relaying to voters how Trump’s appointment of three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court during his first term led to a decision revoking constitutional protections for abortion that were in place since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, Pocan said. As a result, he added, “now we are in 1849 law in Wisconsin” with respect to reproductive rights.
An ally both politically and personally
In a written statement to the Blade, Harris for President Senior Spokesperson Kevin Munoz said, âVice President Harris has been a steadfast ally and fighter for LGBTQ+ Americans since her early days in office.”
He added, “Like President Biden, sheâs never shied away from fighting for us, as demonstrated by her record throughout her time in public service, as well as being a part of the most pro-LGBTQ+ administration in history. Vice President Harris has had the LBGTQ+ communityâs back, and this November, weâll have hers.”
High-profile LGBTQ officials serving in the Biden-Harris government include Buttigieg, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, and Ben LaBolt and Karine Jean-Pierre, who respectively serve as communications director and press secretary for the White House.
Two gay men who were on her staff prior to her election as vice president spoke with the Blade for a story in June that accompanied the newspaper’s exclusive interview with Harris. Munoz and Sergio Gonzales, senior advisor to Harris and the campaign, were among the six LGBTQ aides and officials who participated in a three-part profile series last year (during which time the operation in Wilmington was far leaner than it is now.)
Those who are close with the vice president (or those who follow her speeches closely) understand she has deep ties to the community and treasured relationships with LGBTQ friends and colleagues like Jim Rivaldo, a political consultant who helped elect gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk before leading Harris to victory in her first district attorney’s race in 2003.
As vice president, Harris not only shared in the credit for her administration’s pro-LGBTQ wins while maximizing representation from the community in positions of power and influence in American government, but she also found ways to signal her support through other personal, individual means.
For example, Harris in 2022 became the first sitting VP to host a Pride month celebration at the vice presidential residence at the Naval Observatory, which became an annual tradition under her tenure.
Rosenberg Foundation President Tim Silard, who worked under Harris when she was San Francisco district attorney, shared a statement with the Blade by text voicing his support for her candidacy.
“Vice President Harris will be the most outstanding President in my lifetime,” he said. “She has been an unwavering champion of the LGBTQ community, fighting to make all of our families safer and expanding civil rights and our opportunities to thrive.”
Silard added, “I know she will take on bullies at home and abroad and bring our nation together in new and exciting ways. I could not be prouder to support her and will do anything I can to help elect her.”
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The White House
HRC slams White House over position opposing gender affirming surgeries for minors
âBiden administration is flat wrong on thisâ
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Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson issued a strong rebuke on Tuesday of the Biden-Harris administration’s position opposing gender affirming surgeries for minors.
The New York Times reported on June 28 that the White House, which broadly supports making medical interventions available for transgender youth, had expressed opposition to surgeries for patients under 18, having previously declined to take a specific position on the question.
âHealth care decisions for young people belong between a patient, their family, and their health care provider. Trans youth are no exception,” Robinson responded.
âThe Biden administration is flat wrong on this. Itâs wrong on the science and wrong on the substance. Itâs also inconsistent with other steps the administration has taken to support transgender youth. The Biden administration, and every elected official, need to leave these decisions to families, doctors and patientsâwhere they belong,” she added. “Although transgender young people make up an extremely small percentage of youth in this country, the care they receive is based on decades of clinical research and is backed by every major medical association in the U.S. representing over 1.3 million doctors.”
Robinson said the “administration has committed to fight any ban on healthcare for transgender youth and must continue this without hesitationâthe entire community is watching.”
âNo parent should ever be put in the position where they and their doctor agree on one course of action, supported by the overwhelming majority of medical experts, but the government forbids it,â she added.
HRC is a prominent backer of Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign, having pledged $15 million to support efforts in six battleground states. The organization has a strong relationship with the White House, with the president and first lady headlining last year’s National Dinner.
A White House spokesperson declined to respond to Robinson’s statement.
Campaign for Southern Equality President Allison Scott also issued a statement.
âThis is a cowardly statement from an administration that promised to support transgender people. It is a troubling concession to the right-wing assault on transgender Americans, falling for their false narratives about surgical care and betraying a commitment to equality and trust in the medical community,â said Scott.
âLetâs be very, very clear: Government has no business inserting itself into private medical decisions that should be exclusively between patients, their providers, and the patientsâ parent or guardian,” Scott added.
“It is dangerous to begin endorsing categorical bans or limits on healthcare, and there is no justification for restricting transgender youthâs access to the very same care that many cisgender youth receive every year â thatâs literally the definition of discrimination,” Scott concluded. “We demand the Biden administration retract this thoughtless statement and work to undo its damage.â
The White House
Jill and Ashley Biden headline White House Pride celebration
First lady celebrated historic pardons of LGBTQ veterans
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First lady Jill Biden and the president and first lady’s daughter, Ashley Biden, headlined the White House Pride celebration on the South Lawn on Wednesday, followed by a performance by singer and actress Deborah Cox.
“My dad has built the most pro-equality administration” in history, Ashley Biden said, crediting the work of LGBTQ people of color like Marsha P. Johnson, a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969, as well as “so many of you [who] have continued to lead their fearless fighting against against injustice here and around the world.”
She introduced her mother as “the woman who taught me to be myself up showed me in so many ways how I can make a difference” and who “works every single day, tirelessly, to ensure that all people have the opportunities and freedoms that they deserve.”
“I hope that all of you feel that freedom and love on the South Lawn today,” Jill Biden said.
Her remarks were briefly interrupted by a protestor’s chants of “no Pride in genocide,” which was drowned out by chants of “four more years.”
The first lady noted how many of the attendees came “here from states that are passing laws targeting LGBTQ Americans.”
“There are those who see our communities and our families and wish to tear them down,” she said, “those who can’t see that the world is so much bigger and [more] beautiful than they know â but when our homes are threatened, when they strip away our rights, and deny our basic humanity, we say, ‘not on our watch.'”
“Pride is a celebration, but it is also a declaration,” the first lady said, highlighting the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges nine years ago, which established marriage equality as the law of the land.
She then credited the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration on matters of LGBTQ rights, including the repeal of the previous administration’s ban on military service by transgender servicemembers and the FDA’s loosening of restrictions on blood donation by gay and bisexual men.
The first lady also celebrated the president’s announcement earlier on Wednesday that he will pardon LGBTQ veterans who were discharged and court martialed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“We will never stop fighting for this community,” she said.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/06/20240626_Jill_Biden_and_Ashley_Biden_at_White_House_Pride_insert_1_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
The White House
HISTORIC: Biden pardons discharged LGBTQ veterans
Announcement coincided with annual White House Pride event
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President Joe Biden on Wednesday issued historic pardons for military service members who were discharged over their sexual orientation or gender identity under discriminatory policies of the past, like “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“Our nationâs service members stand on the frontlines of freedom, and risk their lives in order to defend our country,” he said in a statement. “Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“Some of these patriotic Americans were subject to court-martial, and have carried the burden of this great injustice for decades,” the president said.
“As commander-in-chief, I am committed to maintaining the finest fighting force in the world. That means making sure that every member of our military is safe and respected â so they can focus on their mission,” he said.
“This is about dignity, decency, and ensuring the culture of our Armed Forces reflect the values that make us an exceptional nation,” Biden said. “We have a sacred obligation to all of our service members â including our brave LGBTQI+ service members: to properly prepare and equip them when they are sent into harmâs way, and to care for them and their families when they return home.”
“Today we are making progress in that pursuit.”
The president also issued a Proclamation on Granting Pardon for Certain Violations of Article 125 Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which specifies that “the Military Departments (Army, Navy, or Air Force), or in the case of the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, shall provide information about and publicize application procedures for certificates of pardon.”
Veterans who were discharged for their sexual orientation or gender identity are barred from accessing benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Senior administration officials explained during a call with reporters on Tuesday that veterans who obtain certificates of pardon will be able to petition for a change in their discharge status, which can facilitate their access to benefits.
Officials on Tuesday’s call said they will proactively reach out to these service members to make them aware of the president’s clemency action and to connect them with pro-bono attorneys who can help them navigate the process.
“We intend, and have intended, to design this process in a way where people do not need attorneys to go through it, and we think it is easily accessible, but we also recognize that for some people, that would be beneficial, and so are busy at work trying to make those connections happen,” an official said.
The officials did not address a question from the Washington Blade about whether LGBTQ groups including those representing LGBTQ veterans were involved in the administration’s work leading up to the president’s issuance of the pardons, but several organizations celebrated the announcement on Wednesday.
âWe applaud President Biden for taking action today, and the Biden-Harris administrationâs efforts to address this historic injustice that impacted thousands of LGBTQ+ people in the military for decades, with the effects still felt by many to this day,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson.
“This move to rightfully restore reputations lost and gratitude owed to service members who were punished for who they loved is long overdue, and a significant step in the right direction,â she said.
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis wrote on social media, âTodayâs move by President Biden to pardon LGBTQ service members who were unfairly forced out of the military under the discriminatory âDonât Ask, Donât Tellâ is his administrationâs 343rd pro-LGBTQ action. It is an important signal not only to the thousands of brave LGBTQ Americans who deserved better for defending our country but to all who understand that diversity, respect, and inclusion are American values.â
The Congressional Equality Caucus released a statement from the chair, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.): âI thank President Biden for taking this important step to right the wrongs of the past and restore honor to LGBTQI+ Americans who bravely served their nation in uniform.â
âThis is an important step forward in addressing the wrongs of anti-equality policies like ‘Donât Ask, Donât Tell,’ and I urge the Military Departments to ensure these pardons are processed as swiftly as possible,” the congressman said. “I am committed to building upon this important action, including by passing my Restore Honor to Service Members Act into law to ensure that the service and sacrifice of every veteran is honored, regardless of who they are or who they love.â
“PFLAG families have advocated for the dignity and respect due our LGBTQ+ heroes in uniform since the dark days of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and the shadow discharges that predated that discriminatory policy,” said PFLAG National CEO Brian K. Bond.
“As someone who worked on repeal during the Obama-Biden administration I met incredible patriots that just wanted to serve their country,” he said. “Thank you to the Biden-Harris administration and those who continue to fight for military families’ freedom to serve. This welcomed day is long overdue for thousands of LGBTQ+ veterans and their families.”
Lawyers for a group of LGBTQ veterans who are plaintiffs in Farrell v. Department of Defense also released a statement:
âWe applaud President Biden and his administration for todayâs announcement pardoning approximately 2,000 LGBTQ+ veterans who were court-martialed under ‘Donât Ask, Donât Tell’ and similar policies. This is a necessary and important step in recognizing and remediating the harms â that still exist today â caused by these policies, despite their repeals.
“While the pardons represent an important milestone, we must emphasize that there is still critical work to be done. Those pardoned will still need to obtain new discharge papers from the Department of Defense, which are essential for accurately reflecting their service and accessing veteransâ benefits. And, of course, there are tens of thousands of other veterans who continue to suffer the ongoing stigma of their discriminatory discharge.
“We will continue to vigorously litigate our case, Farrell v. Department of Defense, to ensure that all LGBTQ+ veterans who were wrongfully discharged from the military based on sexual orientation receive upgraded discharge papers with all indicators of sexual orientation removed. This remains a critical step for these veterans to receive the honor and status they rightfully deserve, having served our country with dignity and integrity.â
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First lady Jill Biden will host the White House Pride Month celebration on June 26, according to a press release previewed by the Washington Blade.
The party on the South Lawn will also feature a performance by singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer Deborah Cox and musical selections by DJ Trifle.
This year’s event comes on Equality Day this year, which honors the anniversaries of three landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions that expanded rights and protections for LGBTQ Americans: Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which struck down sodomy laws, United States v. Windsor (2013), which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which made marriage equality the law of the land.
The White House highlighted some of the “historic action” taken by President Joe Biden to “advance LGBTQ+ equality for the community,” including:
- Signing into law the landmark Respect for Marriage Act which protects the rights of same-sex and interracial couples;
- Appointing a historic number of LGBTQI+ and transgender appointees, including the first transgender American to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate;
- Directing all federal agencies to strengthen civil rights protections on the basis of gender identity, resulting in agencies working to strengthen protections in housing, health care, education, employment, the criminal justice system, nutrition programs, and more;
- Reversing the ban on open service by transgender members of the military;
- Signing an executive order focused on LGBTQI+ children and families that directs agencies to address the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called âconversion therapyâ and finalized rule-making that ends disparities that LGBTQI+ children and parents face in the child welfare and foster care system and protects against disparities in health care; and
- President Biden continues to call on Congress to pass the Equality Act to enshrine civil rights protections for LGBTQI+ Americans in federal law.
Last year, the president and the first lady hosted the celebration, which was the largest Pride event ever held at the White House.
The White House
White House reaffirms commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ rights
Jean-Pierre noted how many of the challenges facing LGBTQ youth have dovetailed with the ongoing mental health crisis in America
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WASHINGTON — White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre began her briefing with reporters on Monday by honoring Pride Month as a time to “reflect on the progress we have made in pursuit of equality, justice, inclusion” and “recommit ourselves to do more to support LGBTQI+ rights at home and around the world.”
She said that while the Biden-Harris administration has taken “historic action” to expand freedoms and protections for the community “since day one,” state legislatures last year filed more than 600 anti-LGBTQ bills, which disproportionately target transgender youth.
Not only are conservative state lawmakers potentially on track to surpass that number in 2024, but Republican members of Congress along with the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, have pledged their support for at least a dozen anti-LGBTQ policies at the federal level.
Jean-Pierre said this administration “is going to continue to speak out and stand up against these attacks,” adding, “as President Biden says, these young [transgender and queer] people are some of the bravest people he knows, but no one should have to be brave just to be themselves.”
The press secretary concluded her opener by discussing the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which provides a “line dedicated to serving LGBTQI+ young people that can be reached by dialing nine eight and pressing three.”
Afterwards, when fielding questions from reporters, Jean-Pierre noted how many of the challenges facing LGBTQ youth have dovetailed with the ongoing mental health crisis in America.
She also addressed a ruling on Monday that blocked the administration’s newly passed LGBTQ-inclusive Title IX rules, which clarify that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is covered by the statute’s language barring sex discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal assistance.
A Trump-appointed judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana had issued an injunction against the regulations on Thursday, with a handful of Republican state attorneys general promising more legal challenges.
Declining to address specific legal questions that she noted are best directed to the Justice Department, Jean-Pierre stressed the need for students to feel safe and to be treated equally.
“That is why the protections are all about making sure students have equal rights restored,” she said.
The White House
White House AIDS czar talks to the Blade after Pride blood drive
The Biden-Harris administration is steadfast and committed to advancing the science, and the change in the FDA guidelines
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WASHINGTON – Francisco Ruiz, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, spoke to the Washington Blade by phone following the first-ever LGBTQ-inclusive Pride Month blood drive hosted on Tuesday by the White House Office of Public Engagement in partnership with the American Red Cross.
“The Biden-Harris administration is really steadfast and committed to advancing the science, and the change in the FDA guidelines is a testament to that,” Ruiz said during the event, referring to the agency’s easing of restrictions last year on blood donation by men who have sex with men.
The policy change is “something that, particularly, the LGBTQ+ community has been fighting for, as well as our allies,” he told the Blade. “I think there’s something to be said about saying, ‘Hey, you matter, and you are a contributor to the health and well being of our country” at a time of escalating legislative and rhetorical attacks against the LGBTQ community alongside a rise in bias-motivated acts of violence.
Ruiz added that Tuesday’s event carried powerful symbolic weight. Within 24 hours, all available slots for volunteer donors were filled, and the blood drive took place in the “beautiful, grand” Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, during Pride Month, with rainbow flags flying and LGBTQ people joining Red Cross staff.
The ONAP director, who just stepped into the role in April, described the coordinated effort to get the word out about the FDA’s new blood donation policy, noting “the policy is only as good as folks knowing about it.”
Public education and awareness campaigns are so important, Ruiz said, “so that we can address some of the blood supply issues â making sure that we have an uptake, an increase, of our community members giving and donating blood.”
“There’s been a lot of effort to make sure that we speak to community,” he said. “FDA has put out a series of communications via their channels, as well as their websites, and then they’ve also been leaning into some of our partners who do this great work, like the American Red Cross.”
Ruiz added, “I know a lot of our LGBTQ+ organizations like GLAAD and HRC have been also communicating out,” and “I know that the White House shares some communication also with our partners via the Office of Public Engagement.”
Wins like last year’s issuance of the new guidelines should be celebrated, he said, because there are so many other cases in which moves like these â which are supported by the science and focused on inclusion â do not make it over the finish line.
To this end, Ruiz noted, the American Red Cross and other partners are organizing blood drives for Pride events in cities including Los Angeles and Washington.
“The beauty of Pride events around the country is not only to celebrate and live in the joy of who we are and our humanity, but also to be able to give back to our community,” he said. “And so I think having things like this, like blood drives, having HIV testing events as well, having PrEP conversations, PrEP navigators at these events â I think, you know, we need to bring the joy and the excitement, but also talk about how we take care of ourselves, and how can we give back to our community.”
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