“OUT FOR BIDEN-HARRIS” CAMPAIGN TO ENGAGE LGBTQ+ VOTERS
President Biden’s reelection campaign launched “Out for Biden-Harris” last month, a new national initiative aimed to mobilize LGBTQ voters, reports The Hill.
The launch includes a series of virtual organizing and training events focused on reaching new volunteers, especially in battleground states, by engaging surrogates from the community—like Virginia state Sen. Danica Roem (D) and former undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones. It will also include a virtual organizing call featuring actor Wilson Cruz, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson to mobilize supporters.
LOSING MY RELIGION: HOW ANTI-LGBTQ+ SENTIMENT IS A DRIVING FORCE
A recent survey conducted by the non-profit organization PRRI found that 18% of Americans left their religion and are now religiously unaffiliated between the years of 2013 and 2023. Of those 18%, nearly half cited anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment within their prior religion as a reason for leaving, reports LGBTQ Nation.
The survey found that over a quarter (26%) of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated, making this the largest single religious grouping in the country. The primary reason that people left their religions, as cited by 67% of people, is that they simply stopped believing.
DEMS OFFER RESOLUTION SUPPORTING LGBTQ STUDENTS
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) unveiled a resolution last month demanding “equal educational opportunity, basic civil rights protections, and freedom from erasure” for LGBTQ students, reports The Hill.
The resolution, which has 17 Democratic co-sponsors, supports the objectives of the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools Initiative, which advocates for LGBTQ-inclusive education policies and curriculum.
“As a former teacher, I know that school shouldn’t be about just surviving — it should be about thriving,” Takano said. “LGBTQ students across the country who are being targeted by this wave of culture war politics are being denied safety in the educational institutions that are supposed to support them.”
KANSAS GOV VETOES PROPOSED BAN ON GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE
Kansas’ governor vetoed a proposed ban last month on gender-affirming care for minors, a measure to require more reporting from abortion providers and what she called a “vague” bill making it a crime to coerce someone into having an abortion, reported NPR.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s actions set up a series of confrontations with the Republican-supermajority Legislature over those issues. The measures appeared to have the two-thirds majorities needed in both chambers to override vetoes, but GOP leaders’ success depends on how many lawmakers are absent on a given day, especially in the House.
MICHIGAN PASSES LAW PROTECTING LGBTQ+ PARENTAGE RIGHTS
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a law last month that adds crucial protections for LGBTQ+ couples using fertility treatments to build a family, reports LGBTQ Nation.
The Michigan Family Protection Act includes a series of provisions to protect families of all kinds. Most notably for the LGBTQ+ community, it changes “outdated state law to treat LGBTQ+ families equally and eliminate the need for them to go through a costly and invasive process to get documentation confirming their parental status,” according to an official press release.
