POLITICS
Biden Signs Order Restoring LGBTQ Protections
Incoming administration directs federal agencies to follow SCOTUS ruling
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Just hours after the inauguration,
President Joe
Biden signed an executive
order directing federal
agencies to follow the Bostock
v. Clayton Supreme Court ruling
protecting workers on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender identity.
While the Supreme Court ruling
was confi ned to employment,
the administration also directed
agencies to more broadly interpret
all federal sex discrimination laws
to include sexual orientation and
gender identity.
The administration notably offered
a warning shot to schools
and other institutions by warning
that they must respect transgender
students’ “access to the restroom,
the locker room, or school sports”
— an important point in light of
the Trump administration’s relentless
bid to restrict the rights of
trans students and sideline trans
student-athletes.
In announcing the executive
order, the administration voiced a
commitment to provide more safety
to queer, transgender, gender
non-conforming, and non-binary
people.
“Every person should be treated
with respect and dignity and
should be able to live without fear,
no matter who they are or whom
they love,” the order states. “Children
should be able to learn without
worrying about whether they
will be denied access to the restroom,
the locker room, or school
sports. Adults should be able to
earn a living and pursue a vocation
knowing that they will not
be fi red, demoted, or mistreated
because of whom they go home to
or because how they dress does
not conform to sex-based stereotypes.”
The order acknowledges the
challenges of LGBTQ people from
multiple marginalized groups, including
the higher rates of bias targeting
Black transgender people.
“Discrimination on the basis
of gender identity or sexual orientation
manifests differently for
President Joe Biden is ordering federal agencies to follow the Bostock v. Clayton County SCOTUS ruling.
different individuals, and it often
overlaps with other forms of prohibited
discrimination, including
discrimination on the basis
of race or disability,” the order
states.
The order does not apply to all
federal agencies, however. The text
notes that “independent agencies”
do not necessarily apply to the order,
though they are encouraged to
follow it.
The executive order was welcomed
by LGBTQ groups across
the country.
“Biden’s executive order is the
most substantive, wide-ranging
executive order concerning sexual
orientation and gender identity
ever issued by a United States
president,” Human Rights Campaign
president Alphonso David
said in a written statement. “Today,
millions of Americans can
breathe a sigh of relief knowing
that their president and their
government believe discrimination
based on sexual orientation
and gender identity is not only intolerable
but illegal.”
Kevin Jennings, CEO of Lambda
Legal, praised the administration
for making immediate moves
to address LGBTQ rights, but he
is keeping pressure on the new
administration to follow through
on its promises.
“Following their historic campaign
that ran on a strong, proequality
platform, the Biden-
Harris Administration is poised
to be the most LGBTQ-friendly
REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST
and progressive in our nation’s
history,” Jennings continued.
“And we’re already seeing the
administration make good on its
promise with the signing of several
‘day one’ executive orders
that not only strengthen protections
for LGBTQ people, but also
reverse some of Trump’s most
racist, repugnant executive actions.
Lambda Legal stands
ready to support the new administration
in its continued efforts
to restore dignity, guarantee
fairness, and ensure justice
for LGBTQ people, people living
with HIV, and the countless other
communities who have been
marginalized and targeted by
Trump’s four-year assault on
civil rights.”
JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 10, 2 4 021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
