Bloomberg Unveils LGBTQ Platform Matching Rivals’
Ex-mayor’s plan offers no departures from what’s been discussed in primary contest
BY MATT TRACY
Presidential candidate
Mike Bloomberg rolled
out his platform on LGBTQ
issues January 28
and used a media call with reporters
to place an emphasis on his
achievements of the past while
sidestepping some major issues
facing the community today.
The former New York City mayor
— who was once a Democrat,
then a Republican, then an independent,
and now a Democrat yet
again — recalled coming out in
favor of marriage equality in 2005
and later officiating marriages of
same-sex couples.
He painted a rosy picture of
what was a far more complicated
record on marriage equality. While
Bloomberg indeed endorsed marriage
equality in 2005, he simultaneously
appealed a state ruling
that same year declaring that
city clerks must issue marriage
licenses to same-sex couples. He
later poured money into the fight
in Albany, but despite his being
the largest donor to the Republican
Senate majority at the time, there
is no indication he helped bring
around the four GOP votes that
won the day for marriage equality
in 2011.
Bloomberg’s plan, unveiled in detail
on the same day as the media
call, largely reiterated the policies
pushed by his Democratic rivals
in the race. He cited the need to
pass the Equality Act and the importance
of addressing disparities
in healthcare, protecting LGBTQ
youth and families, safeguarding
queer folks from harm in the criminal
justice system, and fighting for
the rights of queer people at home
and abroad.
Many points in his plan were centered
➤ ELIZABETH WARREN, from p.4
option instead and his reluctance
to support voting rights for incarcerated
folks. Pace, who is non-binary,
also explained that Buttigieg
inspired them to come out to their
Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg, seen here in 2009, largely avoided proposing any standout
goals when he unveiled an LGBTQ platform that is similar to the ones pitched by his Democratic rivals.
on unraveling Trump’s damage
— like restoring Department of
Housing and Urban Development
policies protecting trans and nonbinary
folks and reinstating protections
for youth in schools.
But Bloomberg’s plan made no
mention of the decriminalization of
sex work, and a campaign spokesperson
on the call told Gay City
News that the candidate does not
support decriminalization.
And while Bloomberg conveyed
that he would ensure coverage
for gender-affirming care, he also
touted a very limited “Medicarelike”
public option plan that would
be reserved for uninsured lowincome
folks in states that have
yet to expand Medicaid under the
Affordable Care Act. Beyond that,
the former mayor said his intention
was to “protect and expand” ACA
enrollment.
That approach to healthcare
family and friends.
Tueller and Shubert, respectively,
pitched Yang and Klobuchar’s
candidacies to the club in
very much the same way they did
at Stonewall’s endorsement event.
Tueller touched on Yang’s support
PHOTO DUNCAN OSBORNE
could exclude many individuals
from his so-called public option —
including those who have shoddy
coverage through their employers
— and could draw the ire of
voters who have grown frustrated
with steep premium costs under
Obamacare. In addition to genderaffirming
care, many LGBTQ folks
are already saddled with mounting
healthcare bills for routine care
or small procedures that often require
individuals to pay thousands
to meet deductibles before proper
insurance coverage kicks in.
Bloomberg’s plan speaks of increasing
“access” to PrEP by making
it available without a prescription
and implementing a PrEP
subscription service that would include
some government subsidies
to cover costs.
As part of his plan to end the
HIV/ AIDS epidemic by 2030,
Bloomberg is vowing to increase
for a universal basic income, and
Shubert sought to convince the
crowd that Klobuchar would be
a successful president on issues
from gun control to criminal justice
reform and LGBTQ rights.
LID announced the Warren endorsement
POLITICS
funding for the Ryan White CARE
Act, eradicate laws criminalizing
exposure to HIV, and divert from
abstinence-only education programs
and instead prioritize comprehensive
sexual education. As
mayor, he resisted restoring the
classroom condom education that
had been curtailed under his predecessor,
Rudy Giuliani.
Bloomberg, who entered the
2020 race only in November, has
flooded airwaves with advertisements,
pumping hundreds of millions
of dollars from his own fortune
into his campaign. He has
made some gains in the polls since
entering the race, but has yet to
qualify for debates, still trails toptier
candidates by significant margins,
and is skipping early states
like Iowa and New Hampshire.
Significantly, Bloomberg has
vowed to keep up his impressive
pace of spending for the ultimate
Democratic nominee even if his
own candidacy falls short.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s mixed
record on LGBTQ issues during
his time as mayor — and his divisive
policies on policing, most
prominently the explosion of stop
and frisk episodes under his watch
— has left the city’s queer community
with little enthusiasm for his
2020 bid. That was evident at the
Stonewall Democratic Club of New
York City’s presidential endorsement
meeting on January 22 when
skeptical club members peppered
Bloomberg surrogate Christopher
Gonzalez with questions about a
range of issues, including why he
was late to supporting same-sex
marriage.
The next night, the Bloomberg
campaign opted not to send a surrogate
to Lambda Independent
Democrats of Brooklyn’s presidential
endorsement meeting.
on social media platforms
following the conclusion
of the meeting, writing, “Pride,
Progress and a plan for that, LID
is proud to endorse Elizabeth Warren
for President of the United
States!!!!!”
GayCityNews.com | January 30 - February 12, 2020 5
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