Human Rights Campaign endorses Biden on anniversary of remarks in favor of same-sex marriage

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest advocacy group fighting for LGBTQ equality, announced its endorsement of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday on the anniversary of his announcement that he supported same-sex marriage.

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

The endorsement from HRC, the latest of a string of Democratic groups that have backed Biden, comes exactly eight years after the former vice president said in an interview that he supported same-sex marriage, a controversial stance at the time and one that President Obama had not yet adopted. 

.@JoeBiden has fought for the LGBTQ community throughout his career — which is why @HRC will fight with everything we have and mobilize Equality Voters to elect him as the next president of the United States. https://t.co/wAhu2IMjay pic.twitter.com/jGhfRZhxw2

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) May 6, 2020

“I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women … are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don’t see much of a distinction,” Biden said at the time. 

HRC said its board voted “unanimously and enthusiastically” Tuesday night to endorse Biden, saying his candidacy is an important bulwark against Trump administration policies like the transgender military ban and its proposal to permit adoption and foster care agencies that receive federal grants to reject LGBTQ couples as potential parents.

“This November, the stakes could not be higher. Far too many LGBTQ people, and particularly those who are most vulnerable, face discrimination, intimidation, and violence simply because of who they are and who they love. But rather than have our backs, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have spent the last three and a half years rolling back and rescinding protections for LGBTQ people. Joe Biden will be a president who stands up for all of us,” said David.

Biden said in a statement that he has “seen firsthand the Human Rights Campaign’s incredible capacity to win impossible battles and soften impenetrable hearts.”

“It’s inspiring and I am grateful to have that force by my side as we take on and win the battle for the soul of this nation,” he added.

HRC also announced it will be launching voter mobilization efforts in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, saying it has identified 3.4 million “Equality Voters at risk of not turning out.” The group currently has 45 full-time staffers in the seven states and another 20 focused on a second tier of states and districts.

–Updated at 12:14 p.m.