What has Joe Biden done for LGBT+ people in the United States
Mar 6 2022
Joe Biden has been the most LGBT+ friendly president in United States history, here is a history of his work as the president to forward LGBT+ rights.
On Biden's first day in office, he issued an executive order which banned many types of LGBT+ discrimination nationwide. The order interpreted Bostock v. Clayton County which outlawed LGBT+ discrimination in employment to cover more areas of life like housing, education, and more.
While temporarily stopping LGBT+ discrimination with an executive order is great, Joe Biden is trying to enshrine these protections into law. He has endorsed Equality Act (HR5) on many occasions. The Equality Act would stop LGBT+ discrimination nationwide in many areas by amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Biden called for the passing of the Equality Act in his State Of The Union speech where he also denounced anti-transgender laws.
Within days of entering office, Biden issued an executive order which lifted the ban on transgender troops placed by former president Donald Trump. The Biden administration also reversed Trump's policy of discrimination in healthcare by protecting LGBT+ people in the healthcare system and killed a Trump proposal that would have let homeless shelters discriminate against transgender people.
Biden started the White House Gender Policy Council to fight for woman's rights and transgender rights and promised to make the US A leader in LGBT+ rights again. Biden promised to push for the decriminalization of homosexuality abroad.
Biden has also recognized the International Trans Day of Visibility and Pride Month, using his platform to call for more LGBT+ rights.
While Biden has done a lot for LGBT+ rights, he has a long way to go, anti-transgender laws are still being pushed and the Equality Act has not yet been passed. Biden and the Democrats as a whole are also dealing with other problems like rising prices and the war in Ukraine. Hopefully, Biden can turn things around for the midterm elections so LGBT+ rights can continue to improve.
