“Four more years of an administration that openly embraces racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and transphobic appointees and policies is ntenable.”
BY VICTOR MELAMED
Over 300 LGBTQ+ community leaders have signed their name to an op-ed in support of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, reports Matt Baume at them.us.
It urged voters to support the 2020 Democratic candidates, whose track records stand in stark contrast with countless homophobic policies enacted by the Trump administration.
“Let us be clear: Four more years of an administration that openly embraces racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and transphobic appointees and policies is untenable,” reads the op-ed, which was published in USA Today last month. “And no amount of gaslighting or lying by misguided members of the Trump administration can change the fact that the era of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence has been defined by its consistent attacks on the rights, health care and livelihoods of LGBTQ+ people.”
Written by Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David and Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the editorial is signed by 331 LGBTQ+ people: numerous members of Congress, state lawmakers, city council members, mayors, nonprofit directors, and former White House officials. Signatories include Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Virginia Delegate Danica Roem, and Congresswoman Sharice Davids.
Biden expressed support for marriage equality before Barack Obama did, saying he “didn’t have to evolve” in order to reach that position.
The op-ed lays out the historic failures of the Trump presidency: Nearly 200,000 Americans killed by a pandemic that has disproportionately affected LGBTQ+ people, an economic collapse, police violently rioting across the country, and of course, a presidential administration that has leveled one attack after another at the LGBTQ+ community. Despite making occasional claims of allyship, Trump has pursued disastrous policies regarding LGBTQ+Americans, opposing equal protections in housing, health care, employment, and military service, reports Matt Baume at them.us.
In contrast, Biden “has stood with the LGBTQ+ community for decades,” the op-ed states. Going back to the 1990s, Biden opposed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” voting to remove the amendment from a defense bill. (Though to be fair, he eventually voted in favor of the bill after removal attempts failed.) Biden also expressed support for marriage equality before Barack Obama did, saying he “didn’t have to evolve” in order to reach that position.
