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Joe Biden has launched a blistering attack on Donald Trump’s record on LGBT+ rights and promised to provide ‘moral leadership’.
He has pledged to ‘brave LGBTQ+ activists’ that, if he becomes president, the US will ‘have their backs’.
Biden made the comments to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) yesterday.
‘We belong at the forefront of this struggle’
The presumptive Democratic candidate to take on Trump in November’s election said:
‘Around the globe, including here at home, brave LGBTQ+ activists are fighting for equal protection under the law, freedom from violence, and recognition of their fundamental human rights.
‘The United States should have their backs. We belong at the forefront of this struggle – speaking out, standing strong for our most dearly held values.
‘We should be sending a clear message that bigotry is bigotry, prejudice is prejudice, and hate is hate, no matter where we find it. American leadership must mean moral leadership in the fight for equality for all.’
Moreover, former Vice President Biden also talked about his record while part of the Obama administration.
He said they ‘delivered real progress on the promise of equality, both at home and abroad’.
In particular they passed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law and supported marriage equality.
Meanwhile, they scrapped the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy that prevented LGBT+ people serving openly in the military. And they positioned advancing LGBT+ equality as a US foreign policy goal for the first time.
Trump has provided a ‘safe harbor to hate’
Biden contrasted this record with that of Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence. Research shows Trump has become more anti-LGBT+ as he prepares for the election.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is working to redefine human rights based on the Bible. This will likely exclude LGBT+ people.
Biden said: ‘Instead of building on this progress, the Trump-Pence Administration has done everything it can to undermine LGBTQ+ rights: giving safe harbor to hate and rolling back protections for LGBTQ+ persons, blocking the ability of transgender individuals to openly serve their country, denying LGBTQ+ people access to critical health care, and failing to address the epidemic of violence against transgender people, among other odious policies.
‘Today, many LGBTQ+ people in the United States live in fear, and LGBTQ+ activists in other countries, who are often fighting desperately for their rights and personal safety, are no longer sure that the United States is their friend and ally.’
Furthermore, he promised to ‘reinvigorate and expand US efforts’ on LGBT+ rights in the US and around the world as president.
He said: ‘The United States will again be a beacon of hope for people anywhere in the world who suffer violence and discrimination for the simple fact of who they are or who they love.
‘We will strengthen the coalition of countries determined to eliminate discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Anything less would be un-American.’
Biden promises to pass the Equality Act and protect trans Americans
It is not the first time Biden has promised to support LGBT+ rights or attacked Trump’s record.
Last year he said his first legislative priority as president would be to ensure LGBT+ rights and protections in the US under the Equality Act. The former vice president also labelled Trump’s administration as ‘wrong and immoral’ with regards to LGBT+ rights.
Moreover, he’s made detailed promises to support trans healthcare and guarantee trans rights.
Biden is currently leading Trump in the national polls by 46% to 41% according to poll aggregators.
But the election on 3 November is still far too close to call. To win, Biden have to work hard to mobilize the voters, particularly in swing states.
At the moment, the electoral map shows the Democrats are more likely to win 232 electoral college votes to the Republican’s 204.
However, many of those votes are far from safe and 102 more are in the toss-up category. So there’s a long way to get to the 270 needed to win the White House.
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