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The 2024 U.S. election is the most consequential in modern history and will have repercussions for individual rights and liberties, as well as for the future of democracy in the United States and globally. The effects will be far-reaching and long lasting, and will be felt acutely by LGBTQ people, queer people of color, women and people of reproductive capacity, transgender adults and youth. Many communities’s rights, safety, and wellbeing will be shaped by the election outcomes.
GLAAD does not endorse or oppose political parties or candidates for elected office. GLAAD’s role as the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization is to ensure that candidates, the media, and voters have information to understand LGBTQ lives and issues and to report on them in a fair, accurate and inclusive way. This comparison includes some of the issues to include in your coverage and records of the candidates.
LGBTQ Rights
Tim Walz
- Co-sponsored the Equality Act while serving in Congress
- Voted for The Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in Congress
- Introduced legislation to protect LGBTQ service members from discrimination in benefits
JD Vance
- Held up nominations of dozens of diplomats for over a year with a questionnaire targeting LGBTQ people
- Objected to questions about gender identity in the U.S. Census
- Endorsed a Heritage Foundation report proposing a conservative agenda to restrict sexual and reproductive freedoms
Marriage Equality
Tim Walz
- Opposed efforts to ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota constitution
- Co-sponsored legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) while in Congress
- Officiated some of the first same-sex marriages as governor
JD Vance
- Opposed the Respect for Marriage Act to codify marriage equality
- Called the Respect for Marriage Act “a distraction”
- Cited concerns about so-called religious liberty
Transgender Rights
Tim Walz
- Signed an executive order in 2023 protecting transgender health care
- Signed a “trans refuge” bill into law, protecting transgender people and their families seeking gender-affirming care in Minnesota
- Enacted a statewide ban on so-called “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ youth and vulnerable adults
JD Vance
- Introduced the “Protect Children’s Innocence Act,” which would ban transgender health care for minors
- Used inflammatory and defamatory language like “groomer” to describe those supporting gender-affirming care for minors
- Attempted to erase counting of LGBTQ people in the U.S. Census, referring to gender identity as “harmful ideology”
