Congratulations, We Did It!

The wait is finally over. It is now January 20, 2021, or in other words, Inauguration Day. Today is the day change begins. Today is the day Joe Biden goes from President-elect to President of the United States. Today is the day to hug your friends and family and say: Congratulations, we did it! May our next four years be filled with change, progress, and love.

If you are not sure whether Joe Biden’s agenda corresponds with the LGBTQ+ community, we are here to tell you that it does. Joe Biden believes that every human being should be treated with respect and dignity, and be able to live without fear no matter who they are or who they love. During the Obama-Biden Administration, the United States made historic strides toward LGBTQ+ equality, from the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to Biden’s historic declaration in support of marriage equality on Meet the Press in 2012 and much more.

Their administration also led to the unprecedented advancement of protections for LGBTQ+ Americans at the federal level. If he was able to accomplish all that and more as Vice President, we can only imagine what he will do for us as President. 

Donald Trump and his administration have given hate against LGBTQ+ individuals’ safe harbor and rolled back critical protections for the LGBTQ+ community. By blocking the ability of transgender individuals to openly serve their country, denying LGBTQ+ people access to critical health care, proposing policies allowing federally funded homeless shelters to turn away transgender people as well as federally funded adoption agencies to reject same-sex couples, and failing to address the epidemic of violence against transgender people—particularly transgender women of color,—the Trump-Pence Administration has led a systematic effort to undo the progress President Obama and Vice President Biden had made. 

As President, Biden will stand with the LGBTQ+ community to ensure that the United States finally lives up to the promise on which it was founded: Equality for all. Joe Biden will provide the moral leadership to champion equal rights for all LGBTQ+ people, fight to ensure our laws and institutions protect and enforce their rights, and advance LGBTQ+ equality globally. Buckle up and get ready for these next four years of progress!

By David Brothers and Paloma Pinto