Democratic lawmakers call for expanding, enshrining LGBTQ rights

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday called for expanding and enshrining LGBTQ rights, steps they said won’t happen unless former Vice President Joe Biden is elected in November.

Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) were among the speakers at The Hill’s virtual Pride summit, and both highlighted the need for action in Washington.

Davids told The Hill’s Steve Clemons that a Biden administration would advance LGBTQ issues and embrace legislation like the Equality Act, a measure passed by the House last year that has languished in the Senate.

“One of the things that we should definitely do is make sure that we have a president that will sign the Equality Act, and I think a Biden presidency would lead to just that,” Davids said before taking a swipe at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

‘It is unfortunate that one person has the ability to slow down so much good legislation,” said Davids, one of several LGBTQ lawmakers elected during the 2018 midterms. “I think that nationally people are supportive of equality, people are supportive of making sure that everyone is treated equally and not being discriminated against, and I think it would have a good shot at passing through the Senate were it to be brought up for a vote.”

.@RepDavids on the Equality Act: “It would make sure that everyone that is part of this community is treated equally under the law. That we have the same rights and responsibilities under the law as anybody else.” https://t.co/AXqQLCw1lq #TheHillLGBTQ pic.twitter.com/wMAYL3HJvC

— The Hill Events (@TheHillEvents) June 30, 2020

A Gallup poll released last June found that a slim majority of Americans favor the types of provisions in the Equality Act. About 53 percent of respondents said they believe new civil rights laws are needed to reduce discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Davids’s remarks come the same month the Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ people are protected from employment discrimination under federal law.

Biden praised the ruling, calling it “a momentous step forward for our country.”

President Trump, whose administration argued against the protections, said the White House will “live” with the court’s decision.

Gillibrand, a former 2020 presidential candidate, said Tuesday she hopes the recent Supreme Court decision can lead to similar protections in the military.

“I am hopeful that my colleagues in the Senate understand that [those protections] should also apply to the U.S. military because we’re about to start our debate on the National Defense Authorization Bill,” she said at the event sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation and Philip Morris International.

.@SenGillibrand on her bill to allow transgender military service: “I am optimistic that we do have allies in the Pentagon.” https://t.co/AXqQLCw1lq #TheHillLGBTQ pic.twitter.com/XDn8liwmKW

— The Hill Events (@TheHillEvents) June 30, 2020

Another speaker at the event, Chasten Buttigieg, who is married to former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, said Biden should be commended for his support of the LGBTQ community when he was vice president and endorsed legalizing gay marriage.

“I’m grateful that the vice president was so vocal about his opinion then and I am grateful for all the growth that has happened since then.”