Supporting Our LGBTQ+ Community
Since first coming to Congress, I have fought tirelessly for human rights, civil rights, and civil liberties
I am proud to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community on the issues important to LGBTQ+ Americans because discrimination and hate have no place in our society
I am a member of the Congressional Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Equality Caucus and have consistently earned a 100 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign for my voting record in Congress on issues important to the LGBTQ+ community
Below are some of the recent issues I have been working on in Congress to support and protect our LGBTQ+ community
In 2015, the Supreme Court came down on the right side of history, ruling in favor of marriage equality for all.
However, federal law still does not provide consistent non-discrimination protections based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
Rather, the patchwork nature of current laws has left millions of Americans subject to discrimination.
To ensure LGBTQ+ individuals are protected under the law, I joined my colleagues in reintroducing the Equality Act which would amend existing federal statutes to provide protections against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in the areas of credit, education, employment, federal funding, housing, jury service, and public accommodations.
My colleagues and I, on both sides of the aisle, helped pass this bill through the House with bipartisan support, where it now awaits passage in the Senate.
I have also co-sponsored the Fair and Equal Housing Act to provide non-discrimination protections by adding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected characteristics under the Fair Housing Act.
I also joined with Rep. Rosa DeLauro to introduce the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would amend the Fair Labor and Standards Act to address wage discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and provide legal remedies to victims of pay discrimination.
During the pandemic, I supported the Federal Eviction Moratorium and its subsequent extension to help people stay in their homes during the pandemic – an issue that disproportionately affects the LGBTQ+ community due to the lack of federal protections against housing discrimination.
As many state eviction protections expired, I fought for an extension of Federal eviction protections.
Another ongoing area of anti-LGBTQ discrimination that must be addressed is discrimination in the adoption system.
Many taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies still discriminate against qualified, licensed LGBTQ+ foster and adoptive families, refusing to place youth with these families or forcing them to go through a more extensive, time-consuming, and costly process before allowing placement.
This is why I co-sponsored the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act which would prohibit any child welfare agency receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating against any potential foster or adoptive family on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
It would also prevent these taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies from engaging in such discrimination by allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to withhold federal funding if evidence indicates that such discrimination has occurred.
We continue to have enormous work to do to secure equity and safety for the transgender, gender nonconforming, and gender-diverse community.
The transgender community, particularly transgender women of color, continue to face an epidemic of violent hate crimes.
We also saw a renewed assault on the transgender community under Trump administration policies, with the outrageous ban on transgender individuals from military service and the rolling back of anti-discrimination protections for transgender people within the homeless shelter system.
When these heinous policies were announced, I took action by cosponsoring a Congressional Resolution expressing opposition to banning service in the Armed Forces by openly transgender individuals.
I helped pass this Resolution through the House with bi-partisan support. I commend President Biden’s work to undo these harmful policies.
I joined my colleagues in reintroducing the International Human Rights Defense Act. This bill establishes a permanent Special Envoy in the Department of State for the Human Rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.
This person shall serve as the principal advisor regarding human rights for the LGBTQ+ community and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to such rights.
We need a dedicated individual at the State Department to champion these important discussions.
I also cosponsored the Global Respect Act, which would place sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violations of internationally recognized human rights against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals, and bar such persons from obtaining visas or admission to the United States.
More on Supporting Our LGBTQ+ Community
Colorado Springs, Colorado -- Five people are dead and 25 injured after a gunman entered Club Q, a Colorado Springs LGBTQ club, Saturday and began firing with a long rifle. The gunman is in custody after being subdued by at least two people inside the club.
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998.
Sherman Oaks, CA -- Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), member of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, issued the following statement in observance of "National Coming Out Day" to support the many people who identify as LGBTQ+ as they “come out” (a term stemming from the phrase “come out of the closet”) to friends or family about their sexuality and to celebrate the liberation spirit.
OUR MISSION: The LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus serves as a resource for Members of Congress, their staff, and the public on LGBTQ+ issues at the federal level. The Caucus works toward the extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence, and the improved health and well-being for all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.
Today the House passed the Respect For Marriage Act, a bill I proudly co-sponsored which repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and enshrines marriage equality into federal law.
We cannot let the conservative Supreme Court justices overturn the right to same-sex and interracial marriages.
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