ACLU Announces Roadmap for Protecting and Expanding LGBTQ Freedom Under a Harris Administration

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union released Harris on LGBTQ Rights: Building on a Legacy of Undoing Harm, Expanding Protections, and Serving as a Bulwark Against State Attacks today, a memo outlining Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris’ commitments to protecting and expanding freedom for LGBTQ people and how the ACLU will ensure that a Harris administration delivers on these commitments if she is elected.

Policy recommendations within the memo include a day one executive order directing federal agencies to examine ways to affirmatively enhance access to gender-affirming care in federally funded programs. Given the significantly anti-trans policy environment that has emerged from state and federal legislative attacks on LGBTQ people over the past four years – and an upcoming landmark Supreme Court case on access to hormone therapy for transgender adolescents – the ACLU would push a future Harris administration to build on the Biden-Harris administration’s record of using the power of the federal government to protect LGBTQ people from harm in as many ways as possible.

“The Biden-Harris administration has a strong record of protecting and expanding the freedom of LGBTQ people at a time when those freedoms have faced an unprecedented assault,” said James Esseks, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “With further attacks on our rights and a landmark Supreme Court case on the horizon, we would encourage a Harris-Walz administration to continue this commitment and do everything in its power to protect our rights, our health care, and our freedom to be ourselves without fear.”

“When targeting LGBTQ people is a priority for our enemies, it’s all the more critical that defending LGBTQ people remain a priority for our friends,” said Mike Zamore, national director for policy & government affairs at the ACLU. “The Biden-Harris administration has worked hard to earn the trust of LGBTQ people and our families through concerted efforts to protect transgender kids in our schools, defend the right to marriage equality, and ensure medical decisions stay between trans people and their doctors. We’re hopeful a Harris-Walz administration would build on this legacy, and we will bring all of our resources to bear to help them do so.”

The ACLU’s roadmap released today outlines our plan to push for protecting and expanding access to gender-affirming medical care and other LGBTQ rights in every state across the country:

• Among other policy recommendations within the ACLU’s memo, one of the most significant and powerful ways for a Harris-Walz administration to prioritize the health care needs of trans people is by issuing a day one executive order directing federal agencies to examine ways to affirmatively enhance access to gender-affirming care in federally funded programs. An executive order like this would provide clear direction to federal agencies to improve access to care in federally funded programs, including through potential mandatory coverage determinations and increased clarity around what must be covered.
• A Harris-Walz administration would almost certainly prioritize passage of the Equality Act or other comprehensive nondiscrimination legislation for LGBTQ people. While a pro-equality administration is essential for this goal, it alone is insufficient. Not only will it require a pro-equality trifecta at the federal level (White House, Senate, and House), but passage through Congress will ultimately depend on reform or elimination of the filibuster in the Senate. The ACLU is prepared to harness the public pressure necessary to push the Senate to restore its ability to deliver full equality under the law for LGBTQ individuals. The ACLU will engage in a multi-front effort, including aggressive lobbying and grassroots mobilization, to make the case, create the urgency, and provide the momentum necessary for Congress to act.
• A future Harris-Walz administration would have multiple tools at its disposal to protect LGBTQ people from state-level attacks on their constitutional rights and health care. The memo outlines critical steps that the ACLU will urge the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, the Department of Health & Human Services, and other federal agencies to take to protect transgender people across the country from discriminatory state laws.

The Harris on LGBTQ Rights memo marks the first of six memos the ACLU is releasing on the Democratic nominee. In addition to LGBTQ rights, the memos will focus on abortion, immigration, the criminal legal system, voting rights, and surveillance. This series follows seven memos the ACLU released on policies of a potential second Trump administration. New memos will be released through August and will be available here.