Sarah McBride Leads A Rare Bipartisan Stand Against Global LGBTQ+ Persecution

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In a rare bipartisan moment, Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) has reintroduced the Global Respect Act, a bill that would let the U.S. identify and sanction foreign officials responsible for violence, torture, and persecution against LGBTQ+ people around the world. She’s joined by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and an unexpectedly large group of allies: 119 original cosponsors.

The announcement, issued as a press release on McBride’s website, landed on Transgender Day of Remembrance. McBride, the first out trans person elected to Congress, framed the bill around something basic but too often denied: “Freedom and dignity should never depend on your zip code or who holds power in your country.”

What the Bill Actually Does

If passed, the Global Respect Act would:

• Sanction foreign individuals who commit torture, murder, arbitrary detention, or attacks on LGBTQI+ people.
• Restrict their entry into the United States.
• Name those perpetrators publicly through biannual reports.
• Expand State Department documentation of global LGBTQ+ conditions, including violence, criminalization, and restrictions on expression, assembly, and association.
  

It’s a direct response to a world where one-third of countries still criminalize same-sex relations, and a dozen maintain the death penalty for them. Many of the abuses, such as raids, beatings, disappearances, are carried out by the very officials meant to protect people.

Republican co-sponsor Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick also defended the bill in a statement included in McBride’s press release, saying, “No person should ever face imprisonment, violence, or discrimination on the basis of who they are,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Atmosphere This Bill Drops Into

The conversation around LGBTQ+ rights—both globally and inside the House—has been tense. Just this week, McBride and Rep. Mark Takano led 212 Democrats in calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to address the surge of anti-trans rhetoric coming from members of Congress. The letter cites everything from calls to “institutionalize all transgender people” to conspiracy-leaning claims that trans people are a national security threat.

That rhetoric doesn’t stay in the chamber, it also echoes the same narratives fueling violence worldwide. And, it comes as more than 1,000 anti-trans bills have been introduced nationally over the past year.

Major human rights organizations—including Amnesty International USA, Outright International, the Council for Global Equality, the Human Rights Campaign, the Trevor Project, and more—have lined up behind the bill.

The Global Respect Act doesn’t fix everything but it demands something important: accountability.