Why a Harris Presidency Promises Hope for LGBTQ Rights

For the past four years, the Biden-Harris administration has made LGBTQ rights a cornerstone of its policy agenda. Among other efforts, the Biden-Harris administration has consistently sued states to block anti-trans laws and policies, including asking the Supreme Court to lift bans on medically necessary health care for trans adolescents.

While there remains work to be done to protect the LGBTQ community, we have seen significant progress under the Biden-Harris administration in undoing the anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ policies of Donald Trump's administration. Given this strong record, should current Vice President Kamala Harris win in November, we're calling on her administration to continue to ensure that the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ people are protected and prioritized across the federal government.

The Facts: Given the significantly anti-trans policy environment that has emerged over the past four years, the ACLU would push a future Harris administration to build on the foundation established during Joe Biden's presidency by using the power of the federal government to protect LGBTQ people from harm in as many ways as possible.

The Biden-Harris administration ordered federal agencies to protect LGBTQ people against discrimination by ensuring that the Supreme Court's historic decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the court held that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, applied in the contexts of not just employment, but also housing, health care and credit lending. The administration also reopened the military to transgender service members, reversing the Trump administration's ban. Additionally, the administration expanded access to gender-affirming health care through government health care programs, including in federal prisons, and expanded access to accurate gender markers on federal government identification documents, such as passports.

While a pro-equality president can do a lot to protect the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ people, they cannot achieve the long-sought goal of comprehensive federal protections on their own. From the earliest days of her service in the Senate, Harris consistently made clear her support for the Equality Act -- legislation to provide LGBTQ people with explicit, comprehensive protection against discrimination -- and, as vice president, has consistently urged Congress to pass the legislation. However, if Harris is elected and faced with a divided Congress, similar to what we have now, it will be essential for the Harris-Walz administration to remain vigilant against efforts to put anti-LGBTQ measures, including those banning access to gender-affirming care, in must-pass legislation, such as bills that fund the federal government.

Why It Matters: In addition to Trump-era policies that sought to actively disenfranchise LGBTQ people, without federal-level protections, the LGBTQ community continues to face discrimination in nearly every aspect of daily life.

In the last two years, states have considered 1,197 anti-transgender bills. Of those, 129 have been passed into law. Anti-trans or anti-LGBTQ laws restrict access to needed health care for adults and children, deny individuals the right to live freely and safely as they are and hinder the ability to simply exist free from discrimination.

How We Got Here: From its first day in office, the Biden-Harris administration set about undoing many of the Trump administration's regressive anti-LGBTQ federal policies and enhancing federal protections.

However, when a new presidential administration takes office in January 2025, the LGBTQ community will still be confronting a dismal policy landscape in about half the country where trans adolescents -- and increasingly trans adults -- face unlawful discrimination. In many states, trans people cannot access gender-affirming medical care; are unable to use restrooms in schools and other government buildings; find that updating gender markers on identity documents is challenging or impossible; and cannot fully participate in society as their authentic selves.

Our Roadmap: To help a future Harris-Walz administration pass comprehensive federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, we will continue to push Congress to reform the Senate filibuster and pass pro-equality legislation, such as the Equality Act. The Biden-Harris administration has championed the Equality Act, but a vocal anti-LGBTQ minority has used the filibuster to delay its passage through Congress. The ACLU is prepared to use public pressure -- including aggressive lobbying and grassroots mobilization -- to compel Congress to finally act.

While the passage of explicit, comprehensive legislation protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination is the ACLU's top LGBTQ priority in Congress, there are many other actions that a Harris-Walz administration should take to safeguard the rights of LGBTQ people. For example, one of the most significant and powerful ways for a Harris-Walz administration to support the needs of trans people is to issue an executive order on Day 1 directing federal agencies to examine ways that they can affirmatively enhance access to gender-affirming care in federally funded programs. An executive order like this would provide clear direction to federal agencies and do so in a way that would serve the goal of comprehensively addressing this issue.

Additionally, we expect Harris to work with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to use litigation to protect trans people across the country from discriminatory state laws. The ACLU will continue this work in communities across the country by engaging our activists to join the fight for LGBTQ equality in their home states.

What Our Experts Say: "The Biden-Harris administration has a strong record of protecting and expanding the freedom of LGBTQ people at a time when those freedoms have faced an unprecedented assault. With further attacks on our rights and a landmark Supreme Court case on the horizon, we would encourage a Harris-Walz administration to continue this commitment and do everything in their power to protect our rights, our health care, and our freedom to be ourselves without fear." -- James Esseks, co-director of the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project

James D. Esseks is director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer & HIV Project. Through litigation, legislative lobbying, policy advocacy, organizing and public education, the ACLU seeks to ensure equality and justice for LGBTQ people and people living with HIV. For more than 100 years, the ACLU has worked in courts, legislatures and communities to protect the constitutional rights of all people. With a nationwide network of offices and millions of members and supporters, the ACLU takes on the toughest civil liberties fights in pursuit of liberty and justice for all. To find out more about the ACLU and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.