Biden Plan for LGBTQ+ Equality

A Summary of the Biden Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Equality in America and Around the World

Election day is coming up on super Tuesday, November 3rd! Millions of people have already voted through early voting or mail in ballots and many more are heading to the polls next week. In a message to the Human Rights Campaign in September, Biden re-emphasized his commitment to support the LGBTQ+ community and support LGBTQ+ rights (Avery, 2020). Within the past few months, Joe Biden has released his, “plan to advance LGBTQ+ equality in America and around the world” (Ring, 2020). Listed below is a summary of that plan, and you can find more details for each point on his website (Biden, 2020). We urge you to read through each of these sections and consider the impact this election will have on millions of LGBTQ+ people across the country and around the world.

Protect LGBTQ people from discrimination

  • Empower federal agencies to be champions for equality

  • Protect LGBTQ+ individuals from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

    • Reaffirm that the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

    • Support transgender and non-binary people in the workforce.

    • Stop employment discrimination in the federal government.

  • Treat LGBTQ+ service members and veterans with the respect that they deserve

    • Reverse the transgender military ban.

    • Reverse Department of Defense policies that perpetuate stigmatization of and discrimination against people living with HIV.

    • Support LGBTQ+ veterans.

  • Support the freedom to build and protect families.

  • Reinstate protections for LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness.

  • Support LGBTQ+ seniors.

  • Affirm one’s gender marker and expand access to accurate identification documents.

  • Ensure blood donation procedures are based on science.

Support LGBTQ+ youth

  • Ensure young LGBTQ+ people are supported and protected in our schools and college campuses by:

    • Guaranteeing transgender students have access to facilities based on their gender identity.

    • Protecting LGBTQ+ students from sexual assault, harassment, and bullying.

    • Ending school discipline policies that disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ students.

  • Work to end suicide among young LGBTQ+ individuals.

  • Eliminate LGBTQ+ youth homelessness.

  • Focus on juvenile justice reform and prevention.

  • Protect LGBTQ+ Dreamers.

Protect LGBTQ+ individuals from violence and work to end the epidemic of violence against the transgender community, particularly transgender women of color

  • Reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking against LGBTQ+ individuals and support survivors of this violence.

  • Combat the epidemic of violence against transgender women of color.

  • Enforce and strengthen the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

  • End our gun violence epidemic and its impact on the LGBTQ+ community.

  • End Trump’s detrimental asylum and immigration policies that damage our global standing

    • Ensure asylum laws protect people fleeing persecution.

    • End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program.

    • Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”

  • Support LGBTQ+ survivors of violence. 

Expand access to high-quality healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals

  • Guarantee the Affordable Care Act’s nondiscrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ community.

  • Ensure coverage for comprehensive care for LGBTQ+ Americans.

  • Update and implement the Obama-Biden Administration’s comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

  • Decriminalize HIV exposure and transmission laws.

  • Ban so-called “conversion therapy.”

  • Restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

  • Expand mental health and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ individuals.

  • Improve access to quality health care for LGBTQ+ Americans in rural communities.

Ensure fair treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals in the criminal justice system

  • Reduce LGBTQ+ interactions with the criminal justice system.

  • Increase safety for incarcerated transgender individuals.

Collect data necessary to fully support the LGBTQ+ community

  • Ensure questions about sexual orientation and gender identity are included in national surveys and data collection efforts.

  • Direct agencies to improve the collection of other demographic information, including race, ethnicity, and disability status.

  • Address gaps in data collection and research with respect to LGBTQ+ health.

Advance global LGBTQ+ rights and development

  • Ensure that human rights are at the center of our engagement with the world.

  • Advance an inclusive human rights agenda that promotes LGBTQ+ rights by integrating them within a broad human rights agenda. 

  • Use the full range of our diplomatic tools and foreign assistance to protect and advance human rights and development, and actively combat violence and discrimination.

  • Combat sexual orientation and gender identity biases.

  • Stand with local civil society.

  • Evaluate programming to ensure that investments are reaching the intended population and making a difference.

  • Work with Congress to enact legislation – like the GLOBE Act.

Vice President Biden’s Record on LGBTQ+ Equality

  • Supporting the Freedom to Marry.

  • Achieving Historic Health Care Reform with Nondiscrimination Protections.

  • Passing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

  • Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

  • Championing LGBTQ Protections in the 2013 Violence Against Women Act Re-Authorization.

  • Promoting Safe Schools and Preventing Bullying.

  • Defending Equal Benefits to Same-Sex Couples.

  • Advocating for Dignity in the Workplace.

  • Launching the First Comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

  • Early Support for HIV/AIDS Resources.

Sources:

Avery, D. (2020). Biden to LGBTQ advocates: 'You deserve a partner in the White House'. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/biden-lgbtq-advocates-you-deserve-partner-white-house-n1241016

Biden, J. (2020). The Biden Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Equality in America and Around the World. Retrieved from https://joebiden.com/lgbtq-policy/

Ring, T. (2020). Joe Biden Releases Plan for LGBTQ Equality. Retrieved from https://www.advocate.com/election/2020/3/05/joe-biden-releases-plan-lgbtq-equality

Lucy Dollinger Joe Biden, LGTBQ, Equality