What We Vote For

As we pass national voter registration day, it is important that we understand what we vote for. 

Despite all of the misinformation, and claims by some that President Trump “has been the best president for the LGBTQ+ community,” that is simply false: President Trump enforced a military ban on transgender people, attempted to limit LGBTQ+ rights, and passed a number of other actions aimed at reducing federal aim for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Furthermore, the FBI recently reported that targeted hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community have risen sharply for the last four years. This can be attributed to Trump’s anti LGBTQ+ policies mentioned above, his hateful rhetoric, and the millions of dollars that his administration donated to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations. In any case, the LGBTQ+ community cannot afford four more years of rising hatred and violence towards them. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The election is approaching fast, and luckily, one of the candidates is interested in protecting the basic human rights of the LGBTQ+; That is Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

“The White House should never be a source of opposition or fear or oppression. It should be a source of hope, of moral courage and of unification,” Biden said during a Unite for Equality Live virtual event. 

In order to do this, Biden made several promises that you should know about, which can greatly help LGTBQ+ people in America.

For starters, he pledged to make the Equality Act a legislative priority, placing sexual orientation and gender identity within the list of federally protected characteristics.

Additionally, his campaign platform pushes for protection for the LGBTQ homeless, which is largely due to the extreme levels of violence against transgender women of color. 

“You deserve a partner in the White House to fight with conviction and win the battles ahead,” he said. “Together we’ll pass the Equality Act, protect LGBTQ youth, expand access to health care, support LGBTQ workers, win full rights for transgender Americans, recommit to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2025, advance LGBT rights around the globe, not just at home.”

For all of these reasons, the Human Rights Campaign has unanimously endorsed Biden.

“Vice President Joe Biden is the leader our community and our country need at this moment,” HRC President Alphonso David said. “His dedication to advancing LGBTQ equality, even when it was unpopular to do so, has pushed our country and our movement forward.”

In another pledge towards the community, Biden promised to lift the current ban on transgender people from joining the military. 

“Duty, honor, country — those are the values that drive our service members,” Biden said in a statement to LGBTQ Nation. “And if I have the privilege of serving as the next commander in chief, I will ensure that our American heroes know I will have their back and honor their sacrifice — always, no matter who they are or who they love.”

So that is what we vote for. We vote for a society of understanding and compassion towards one another, as well as for the protection of human rights.

“Our democracy is at stake — whether we’ll be living in a democracy or a totalitarian regime,” David told NBC News. “For LGBT people that means our very lives are at stake. We could be functionally erased.”