ACLU Issues Blueprint for Harris to Counter Far-Right Attacks on LGBTQ Rights

The American Civil Liberties Union released a detailed policy memo Tuesday outlining how Vice President Kamala Harris can and should work to protect LGBTQ+ people should she win the presidency in November.

The ACLU noted that Harris' record serving in the Biden-Harris administration provides the organization with "a strong basis for optimism that a Harris administration would continue to fight for LGBTQ people," but said it was driven to release the memo because of attacks on the community in recent years by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and lawmakers at the local, state, and federal level.

"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 and 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," added Zamore. "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."

In the memo, titled Harris on LGBTQ Rights: Building on a Legacy of Undoing Harm, Expanding Protections, and Serving as a Bulwark Against State Attacks, the ACLU said one key action would be to issue an executive order directing federal agencies to examine how they can enhance access to gender-affirming healthcare in federally funded programs.

"This would send a powerful message about how a future-President Harris is prioritizing the healthcare needs of trans people, and it would strengthen coverage and access to gender-affirming care under federal policies and programs," reads the memo, which said protections could include mandatory coverage determinations and increased clarity for patients and providers.

"The Biden-Harris administration has worked hard to earn the trust of LGBTQ people and our families... 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 memo was released as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear a challenge brought by the federal government and families in Tennessee against a state law banning gender-affirming care for transgender youths. Tennessee is one of 24 states that ban medication and surgical care for transgender youths—care that is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and other health authorities. Six states have passed laws making it a felony to provide certain kinds of gender-affirming care.

In addition to appealing a lower court's decision to uphold Tennessee's ban, the Biden-Harris administration has sued several other state's over similar laws; ordered federal agencies to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, housing, healthcare, and credit lending; reversed a ban on transgender servicemembers in the military; and expanded access to gender-affirming care in government healthcare programs, including in prisons.

The ACLU also wants passage of the Equality Act—a bill introduced in 2019 that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The group says it 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—which also plans to publish memos this month outlining steps Harris should take to promote abortion rights, voting rights, immigrants, and other issues—also outlined how federal agencies can strengthen protections for LGBTQ people under a Harris administration.

The Department of Education should unveil "more robust enforcement of nondiscrimination rules and more vigorous investigation and resolutions of Education Office of Civil Rights complaints based on sex discrimination," reads the memo. "It is worth noting that the most recent department regulations clarifying how Title IX can be used to protect LGBTQ students are enjoined in certain states, so the administration must continue to fight in the courts to lift that injunction."

The ACLU also called on the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights to provide more robust enforcement of nondiscrimination rules, proactively ensuring public and private insurance policies don't exclude case for transgender patients and "rigorously investigating all complaints of discrimination."

A potential Harris administration, said the group, could work with states to ensure they have the resources needed to expand pro-equality protections, as nearly half of U.S. states work to erode LGBTQ+ rights.

"State employees and state-funded programs should be fully trained on LGBTQ competency, and state budgets must provide dedicated funding streams for LGBTQ-specific programs," reads the memo. "State medical facilities and insurance programs can ensure trans and gender-expansive people have access to the care that is medically necessary to live their lives. State housing programs must have policies in place to ensure they are affirming and accessible to LGBTQ people."

In the face of attacks from GOP-controlled state legislatures and with "a landmark Supreme Court case on the horizon," said James Esseks, co-director of the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project, the ACLU recognizes the Biden-Harris administration's "strong record of protecting and expanding the freedom of LGBTQ people."

"We would encourage a Harris-Walz administration to continue this commitment and do everything in its power to protect our rights, our healthcare," said Esseks, "and our freedom to be ourselves without fear."