GLAAD RESPONDS TO THE ELECTION OF JOE BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Contact:
Barbara Simon
Head of News and Campaigns
bsimon@glaad.org

““The results of this presidential election affirm that every vote and every voter counts. LGBTQ people and all marginalized Americans came together to make this victory possible, and now the journey to safety, equality and acceptance can continue forward”

New York, NY, Saturday, November 7, 2020 – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to the election of Joe Biden for President, defeating Donald Trump in both the Electoral College and popular vote.

President-elect Biden won the most votes of any president in history, with more than 74 million cast. Sen. Kamala Harris will be the first female Vice President of the United States and first Vice President who is of Black and Indian descent. Pennsylvania put President-elect Biden over the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, as record-breaking numbers of Americans voted early or mailed in ballots in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The results of this presidential election affirm that every vote and every voter counts. LGBTQ people and all marginalized Americans came together to make this victory possible, and now the journey to safety, equality and acceptance can continue forward,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

“President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have promised to fight for America as a place where we all can belong and succeed, where truth and kindness matter. In the early days of their administration, they must prioritize protecting LGBTQ people equally under the law in a country where we can live without fear. We must all also confront the racism and bias that fueled the division of the last four years, and resolve to come together for justice and equality for all. We are eager to act on this historic vote for progress and get our country back on track.”

GLAAD’s annual survey recently found that up to 91% of Americans support protections for LGBTQ people, but 89% were not aware that current laws do not protect us. In the 1,386 days of the Trump administration, GLAAD has tracked more than 181 attacks in policy and rhetoric against LGBTQ Americans, including fighting to the Supreme Court three times for the right to discriminate, and deploying multiple federal departments to roll back policies protecting LGBTQ people seeking a job, health care, housing, an education, to adopt a child or buy a cake.

GLAAD calls on President-elect Biden to immediately restore those protections via the power of the presidency, and to lead Americans to align their belief that discrimination is wrong with laws to reinforce them. President-elect Biden is the first presidential candidate to address the need to protect transgender Americans in a nationally-televised forum. He has also promised to urge the passage of The Equality Act and sign it into law in his first 100 days in office, guaranteeing comprehensive protections for LGBTQ Americans across the country.