The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, has officially backed former Vice President Joe Biden for president.
The endorsement came on the eighth anniversary of Biden publicly announcing his support for marriage equality on May 6, 2012. Former President Barack Obama followed suit three days later.
“Vice president Joe Biden is the leader our community and our country need at this moment,” HRC president Alphonso David said. “His dedication to advancing LGBTQ equality, even when it was unpopular to do so, has pushed our country and our movement forward.”
David added that the stakes are especially high for LGBTQ+ people in this November’s election. “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,” he said. “Joe Biden will be a president who stands up for all of us. HRC and our more than three million members and supporters will work day and night to ensure he is the next President of the United States.”
Just one day prior to HRC’s endorsement, Biden was also endorsed by the country’s largest trans rights organization, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).
NCTE president Mara Keisling reiterated the importance of getting President Trump out of the office.
“President Trump has attacked transgender health care, put transgender students unnecessarily at risk and led a consistent and unrelenting effort to rollback protections for LGBTQ Americans,” Keisling said in a statement. “Joe Biden is the clear choice for president of the United States, and the NCTE Action Fund is proud to endorse him.”
As the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Biden has developed an extensive platform on LGBTQ+ rights, including a pledge to immediately reverse the Trump administration’s “discriminatory actions.” Biden also has a history of supporting LGBTQ+ rights as Obama’s vice president.
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