Biden’s Promise to LGBTQ+ Voters

Former Vice President Joe Biden was called as the new president-elect on Friday, November 6. Throughout his presidential campaign, he has vowed to make the Equality Act, which would provide consistent and explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, a top priority. Biden is hoping to sign the landmark civil rights law within his first 100 days in office.

Biden told Philadelphia Gay News that he would expand queer rights internationally by making equality a centerpiece of U.S. diplomacy. Biden has championed the Equality Act before, but his priority for the issue is significant given the host of other urgent matters his administration would be contending with early on.

He outlined his agenda in an email to Philadelphia Gay News‘ publisher, Mark Segal, a nationally known LGBTQ rights advocate since the 1970s.

“I will make enactment of the Equality Act a top legislative priority during my first 100 days- a priority that Donald Trump opposes,” Biden said of the Republican incumbent.

Trump’s administration had made the dismantling of LGBTQ rights a top priority. In his first 100 days, he had all mentions of queer rights removed from the White House website. To read more about the Trump administration’s attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, read here.

The Equality Act was passed before by the democractic-led House of Representatives back in 2019; however, the legislation was stalled in the republican-run Senate. In order to ensure passage, Biden would need democrats to hold both the Senate and the House, an outcome we most likely won’t know until after runoff elections in January.

The Equality Act would amend one of the most revered accomplishments of the civil rights movement, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to include discrimination protections against sexual orientation and gender identity.

On the international front, Biden also promised to support U.S. diplomats who speak out for LGBTQ rights in countries that are hostile to queer citizens. Biden also said he would use “America’s full range of diplomatic tools,” including private diplomacy, public statements, and United Nations agencies to promote equality.

“I’ll stand up to bullies and once more put human rights at the center of America’s engagement with the world,” Biden said.