Topics in the News: Transgender
Kamala Harris on Civil Rights
: Apr 22, 2019
Ally of LGBTQ community; must end discrimination
I have been an ally of the LGBTQ community. We must have a country that agrees that no group should be treated without equality under the law. On day one would pass the Equality Act to make sure that we give LGBTQ people equal rights under the law.
On the issue of transgender rights, we have a president who wants to kick them out of the military because they are transgender. It is absolutely unconscionable. And that is something I would reverse immediately when I am elected president.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back
Mike Gravel on Civil Rights
: Apr 9, 2019
Include sexual orientation & gender identity as civil rights
America has a woeful legacy surrounding its treatment of LGBTQIA+ people. And yet they have shown remarkable perseverance, fighting back relentlessly. It is time for full equality for all of America's LGBTQIA+ people, with a special focus on transgender
rights.The United States should amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination due to sexual orientation and/or gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, and credit.
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Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeGravel.com
Mike Gravel on Crime
: Apr 9, 2019
Decriminalize all commercial sex work
Despite cultural changes, the U.S. government has maintained a puritanical approach to commercial sex work. Many Americans have come to see this work without the blinkered moralistic view of yesteryear; and they have come to recognize commercial
sex workers as one of society's most vulnerable communities. Women of color, of migrant backgrounds, and transgender women often rely on sex work for money. It is time to take a more rational approach.The United States should: -
Repeal the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), which targeted sites like Backpage.com that sex workers used to screen clients and ensure safety.
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Encourage states and municipalities to decriminalize all commercial sex work.
- Focus on illegal and coercive sex trafficking, not consenting sex work.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeGravel.com
Marianne Williamson on Civil Rights
: Apr 8, 2019
Expand LGBTQ rights to end discrimination
Our Declaration of Independence holds that the inalienable rights of, "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," are endowed to ALL humans by their creator at birth. In 2015, marriage equality became the law of the land, yet there is still no
federal law explicitly protecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities from discrimination. These communities, therefore, do not enjoy the full breadth of freedoms that this country espouses to guarantee to each
and every citizen.This is not only unacceptable; this is in direct violation of our founding principles.
Generation after generation, people have fought to rid our country of the "except for's." "Except for blacks," "except for women," and
so forth. Today, we are challenged by the ongoing prejudice that seeks to repudiate the fundamental American dedication to freedom and equality for all. "Except for them" is a stain on our national character.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Marianne2020.com
Beto O`Rourke on Homeland Security
: Mar 14, 2019
Military should welcome transgender recruits
- Discrimination based on sexual preference should be illegal. The military should welcome transgender recruits.
- O'Rourke would make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual preference,
and give same-sex married couples access to all the benefits of heterosexual couples.
- He opposes banning transgender people from the military.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Homeland Security
: Mar 13, 2019
Bar transgender troops from enlisting in military
The Defense Department has approved a new policy that will largely bar transgender troops & military recruits from transitioning to another sex, and require most individuals to serve in their birth gender. The memo falls short of the all-out transgender
ban that was initially ordered by President Donald Trump. But it will likely force the military to eventually discharge transgender individuals who need hormone treatments or surgery and can't or won't serve in their birth gender.Under the new rules,
currently serving transgender troops and anyone who has signed an enlistment contract by April 12 may continue with plans for hormone treatments and gender transition if they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. But after April 12, no one with
gender dysphoria who is taking hormones or has transitioned to another gender will be allowed to enlist. And any currently serving troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria after April 12 will be barred from taking hormones or getting transition surgery.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: NBC News on Trump Cabinet, "Transgender Rule"
Bernie Sanders on Civil Rights
: Feb 19, 2019
1983: Approved "Gay Rights Day" in Burlington Vermont
On LGBTQ rights, Sanders has touted his early moves in support of the gay rights movement. In 1983, as mayor of Burlington, he approved a resolution declaring "Gay Rights Day;" in 1993, he opposed the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy; and in
2000 he supported gay civil unions in Vermont. He opposes President Donald Trump's push to ban transgender people from the military, and laws that would block transgender people from using the bathrooms of their choice.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Homeland Security
: Feb 19, 2019
Ban on transgender people serving openly in the US military
Trump, after being elected, also said he was "fine" with same-sex marriage. But since he took office, his administration has scaled back some workplace protections for gay people and has argued in court that a federal anti-discrimination law
doesn't protect gay employees. He has also announced a ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military, which the Supreme Court last month said could be implemented even as lower-court challenges play out.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Josh Lederman, NBC News, on 2019 Trump administration
Cory Booker on Homeland Security
: Feb 1, 2019
Transgender troops should be allowed to serve
- In the Senate, Booker pushed for marriage equality and cheered the 2015 Supreme Court decision making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.
- As mayor of Newark, he refused to officiate any weddings until same-sex marriage was legal;
in his final weeks as mayor, he married seven LGBT couples once the state legalized it.
- One of the first bills Booker co-sponsored in the Senate was the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which prohibited workplace discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Booker has said his support for the LGBT community has evolved over time.
- In a column he wrote for
Stanford University's newspaper in 1992, Booker said that he once "hated gays."
- Booker has also said the president's plan to ban transgender people from serving in the military "undermines our national security."
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Kamala Harris on Civil Rights
: Jan 21, 2019
Let transgender people access the bathroom of their choice
- Same-sex marriage should be legal. Transgender people should use the bathroom of their choice. States need not necessarily pay for sexual reassignment surgery.
- On gay rights, Harris refused to defend California's law banning same-sex marriage while she was attorney general.
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She believes same-sex marriage should be legal and filed a court brief supporting transgender people's position that they should have access to the bathroom of their choice.
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She does not support states necessarily paying for gender reassignment surgery of transgender inmates, and once filed a court motion seeking to block the procedure in California.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Kirsten Gillibrand on Civil Rights
: Jan 16, 2019
End the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy
- Gay, lesbian and transgender Americans should be allowed to serve in the military and marry whomever they chose.
- Gillibrand pushed to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that required members of the military who identified as
gay or lesbian to keep their sexual preferences secret.
- She supported same-sex marriage before it was legalized.
- More recently, she opposed the Trump administration's attempt to ban transgender Americans from serving in the military.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Tulsi Gabbard on Homeland Security
: Jan 14, 2019
Allow transgender Americans in the military
- Gabbard supports the legal status of same-sex marriage, opposes attempts to bar transgender Americans from the military and supports laws to ban discrimination based on sexual preference.
- Gabbard has changed her position. In 2004,
she opposed a bill allowing civil unions for same-sex couples in Hawaii.
- Hawaii's LGBT caucus withheld their endorsement from her in 2016. She has said that her time in Iraq sparked soul-searching and led to changes in her beliefs.
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Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
John Kasich on Civil Rights
: Dec 3, 2018
Strongly opposed "bathroom bills" against transgender people
Kasich has railed against right-wing efforts to bar transgender people from using the public bathrooms of their choice--when
North Carolina enacted its '16 law, Kasich said, "What the hell are we doing in this country?"
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Source: The Atlantic, "Place in GOP," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Julian Castro on Civil Rights
: Oct 16, 2018
Chicano; Jewish; gay: common thread is marginalization
Growing up, Joaquin and I were essentially immersed in Chicana activism. At Stanford, I thought about how relatively unknown, even invisible, the Chicano community was to the vast majority of Americans. I wasn't keenly aware of the discrimination others
experienced. There were few Jewish, Native American, gay, or transgender people in my childhood circle.I would not be surprised if other students heavily submerged in other ethnic cultures encountered the same sense of marginalization.
[For a Stanford course, I read] "Imagining the Holocaust": the horrific account of what happened to Jews during World War II. At Stanford I was forced to pull back from my tight community and understand how a common thread ran through so many other
cultures around the world where people had to fight for their rights. When one of these groups achieved a victory against discrimination, I felt like "we" had won.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: An Unlikely Journey, by Julian Castro, p.111-3
Mike Pence on Civil Rights
: Sep 19, 2016
RFRA Fix: ensure that religious freedom doesn't discriminate
Pence made national headlines in early 2015 when he signed into law the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," which limited the legal actions that could be taken against an individual or business for asserting their religious beliefs.The law sparked
widespread outrage. Opponents contended that it would give license to religious conservatives to refuse service to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. In response, several major events and corporations--including Salesforce.com
and the NCAA--threatened to limit business ventures in the state or boycott it altogether.
Pence adamantly defended the RFRA legislation and refused to say whether it allowed for discrimination, which led to extensive questioning of his underlying
motives. So much so that he quietly signed a subsequent piece of legislation--dubbed the "RFRA Fix"--that clarified that the law did not allow businesses to discriminate based on a customer's sexual orientation or gender identity.
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Source: Rollcall.com on 2016 vice-presidential hopefuls
Mike Pence on Civil Rights
: Sep 24, 2015
Religious Freedom Act is not about LGBT discrimination
The most hot-button issue of all during the 2015 General Assembly, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, was signed in March. Proponents of the bill said it was designed to keep local and state laws from "substantially burdening" the deeply-held
religious principles of individuals, businesses or religious institutions. Those against the bill felt it opened a Pandora's box for discrimination against minorities, especially the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) community.
"This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way in Indiana, I would have vetoed it," Pence said at the time. "In fact, it does not even apply to disputes between private parties unless government
action is involved. For more than 20 years, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act has never undermined our nation's anti-discrimination laws, and it will not in Indiana."
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Kokomo Tribune on Indiana Voting Records for bill SB101
Larry Hogan on Civil Rights
: Aug 8, 2014
Opposes a transgender rights bill
Hogan, who was a member of former Gov. Bob Ehrlich's administration, told the Washington Post in June he would not seek to repeal
Maryland's same-sex marriage law if elected governor. Hogan told the Baltimore Sun editorial board ahead of the June 24 primary that he opposes a transgender rights bill that Gov. Martin O'Malley signed into law earlier this year.
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Source: Washington Blade AdWatch on 2014 Maryland gubernatorial race
Elizabeth Warren on Civil Rights
: Apr 22, 2014
Build future for ALL our kids, including transgendered
[At one campaign event, I talked about] building a future for all our kids. A man in his 60s came over to me. He was thin, with the leathery skin of someone who had worked outside for many years. He wore a frayed Vietnam vet's cap. He didn't smile,
and his voice was flat. I looked for clues--maybe a little hostile? I wasn't sure. "Yeah, you talk about building a future," he said. "But what about transgender?" Now he looked full-on angry.Wow. That seemed to fall out of the sky. I felt the
instinctive need to crouch. I said just as flatly: "We build a future for all our children. And that means transgender children. ALL our children--no exceptions."
He held my gaze for a moment and then said: "Damn right." He went on to explain that he
had a grown son who was transgender. "In a million years you'll never know the special kind of hell he has gone though. I want somebody who fights and doesn't back off."
I relaxed. A future for all our kids, every one. THIS was a fight I was ready for.
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Source: A Fighting Chance, by Elizabeth Warren, p.229
Bill de Blasio on Civil Rights
: Oct 22, 2013
Co-sponsored the Gender Based Discrimination Protection law
Ending Discrimination and Recognizing All Relationships: While on the City Council, Bill de Blasio co-sponsored the Gender Based Discrimination Protection law--one of the first laws in the nation to prevent discrimination against transgender New Yorkers.
He also co-sponsored the Domestic Partnership Recognition law, an important precursor to full marriage equality that required New York City to recognize same-sex marriages from other states
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Source: 2013 Mayoral campaign website, www.billdeblasio.com
Justin Amash on Civil Rights
: Mar 29, 2013
Repeal DOMA: Government shouldn't be involved in marriage
Amash said that he supports repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, though he wouldn't commit to cosponsor legislation to do that. In an unexpected Twitter exchange with The Huffington Post, Amash, one of the more savvy members of Congress when it comes
to social media, began with a tweet stating that the "real threat" to traditional marriage isn't lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples, but government itself.This sparked a series of tweets with HuffPost about where he stands on repealing
DOMA. Amash emphasized that his support for repealing DOMA is tied to his belief that government shouldn't be involved in anyone's marriage. Amash's spokesman explained the congressman's libertarian-leaning position on the matter earlier this
week: "In his ideal world, the governments--at all levels all together--would get out of marriage. But as a federal legislator, he's in charge of shaping federal law and so he's willing to oppose the federal government's definition of marriage in DOMA."
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Source: Huffington Post, "Amash backs DOMA repeal on Twitter"
Eric Swalwell on Civil Rights
: Nov 6, 2012
Full LGBT equality, including freedom to marry
I support full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. This includes the freedom to marry and the freedom to openly serve in the US military.
I also support the repeal of the California's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
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Source: 2012 House campaign website, swalwellforcongress.com
Mike Gravel on Civil Rights
: Aug 9, 2007
Marriage preceded religion; it’s not a religious term
Stop and think. What is marriage? I resent religion saying that it’s a religious term. It’s not. Marriage preceded all forms of religion in civilization. Marriage is a commitment between two human beings in love. And understand me;
I’m saying two human beings. They can be heterosexual. They can be two lesbians. They can be transgender. They can be two gays. What it is, it’s a commitment of human beings in love. And if there’s anything we need in this world, it’s more love.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues
Page last updated: Jul 09, 2019