US Representative Becca Balint of Vermont joined over 1,100 LGBTQ+ leaders, celebrities and influencers in signing a letter in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’s run for President.
“The community is sending a message loud and clear: we are united in support of the experienced, tough, pro-equality Vice President Kamala Harris and will do everything it takes to defeat Donald Trump and JD Vance,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson.
“The hope and energy we are feeling right now is real. We have the opportunity to not simply vote against the Trump Project 2025 agenda for America in November. We have the opportunity to vote for the future we want. A future where each of us is treated with the dignity and respect we deserve. A future that is safer and better for everyone. A future with equality and freedom for all. For decades, Vice President Kamala Harris has dedicated her life to working toward this future for America, fighting hate crimes, supporting LGBTQ+ families, and advancing justice for all. That future is possible when we show up for our pro-equality champion Kamala Harris.”
Says HRC in this press release announcing the letter:
Vice President Kamala Harris has been a champion for equality throughout her career. After winning her race for San Francisco District Attorney in 2004, VP Harris established a hate crimes unit to investigate and prosecute anti-LGBTQ+ violence. In 2006, she organized a conference in California that brought together over 100 officials from across the U.S. to discuss strategies to end the use of the so-called gay and transgender panic defense. In 2010, VP Harris won her bid for California Attorney General, campaigning on a refusal to defend the infamous Proposition 8, a ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state. She made good on that campaign promise, declining to defend the ban during her tenure as AG and officiating some of the first same-sex marriages in the nation. In 2014, California became the first state to ban the practice in law, and in 2018, VP Harris and other senators introduced a bill to prohibit the practice nationally.
As U.S. Senator, Vice President Harris cosponsored the Equality Act, defended access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, and frequently spoke out against violence against trans women of color.
Harris has been a champion for the LGBTQ+ community as Vice President as well. The Biden-Harris Administration has been the most pro-equality in history. Since the 2021 inauguration, the administration has taken extraordinary steps to advance equality. In 2022, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, a landmark piece of legislation that codified federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. They have issued new administrative rules protecting LGBTQ+ youth from discrimination and harassment in schools, ensuring LGBTQ+ youth are protected in the foster care system, and protecting LGBTQ+ patients from discrimination in health care. They have also filled the administration with members of the LGBTQ+ community, appointing a record 200+ LGBTQ+ people across each level of government and nominating a number of LGBTQ+ judges.
The letter of support for Vice President Harris, which was organized by Advocate for Transgender Equality, Alice B Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, Equality California, the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ Victory Fund, LPAC, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and others, reads, in part:
Combined, our efforts serve millions of LGBTQ+ families across the country. LGBTQ+ voters are one of the fastest growing voting blocs in the nation, including in battleground states, currently numbering almost 20 million voters. That strength in numbers increases to 75 million Equality Voters across the country when including our allies who support pro-equality candidates. These millions of voters will cast their votes one by one, and one by one we must come together to support this historic campaign.
Read the complete letter here.
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