Gillibrand marks Pride Month with LGBT rights agenda

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) on Saturday released a sprawling LGBT rights agenda, which includes codifying marriage equality, banning “conversion therapy” and rescinding the Trump administration’s policy banning transgender people from serving in the military.

She outlined the plan in a Medium post. It also includes signing the Equality Act to prevent LGBT discrimination, directing the Justice Department to consider sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes, and hiring Justice Department lawyers to focus on fighting LGBT discrimination.{mosads}

Gillibrand’s plan, released on the first day of Pride Month, would recognize a third gender in identification documents and allow transgender students to use bathroom and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity. 

It also details several health care initiatives such as pushing to make HIV prevention drugs more affordable, increasing funding for HIV and AIDS research, and increasing funding and access to mental health services for LGBT youth.

“The LGBTQ community is not a monolith with a finite set of needs, and equal rights and freedom from discrimination should be the bare minimum we accept,” she wrote on Medium. 

“As president, I will do more than defend LGBTQ rights — I will stand shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQ community in the fight for equality,” she added. “We’re in this together, because LGBTQ rights are human rights.”

Gillibrand is among two dozen people vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and has worked to gain traction in polls of the crowded primary field.