Senator Gardner Has Refused to Support Equality Act
Today, as the U.S. Supreme Court affirms that LGBTQ individuals are protected from discrimination under federal civil rights law yet President Trump continues rolling back decades of hard-fought protections for the LGBTQ community, John Hickenlooper is announcing his LGBTQ Equality Agenda.
His plan calls for passing the Equality Act, strengthening civil rights protections especially for trans men and women, expanding access to inclusive health care and funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and research, supporting LGBTQ youth and people of color, among other measures.
This forward-looking agenda stands in direct contrast to what is currently happening in Washington, DC where President Trump rolled back transgender health care protections just this past Friday, and where Senator Cory Gardner refuses to support the Equality Actdespite today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming that LGBTQ individuals should be protected from job discrimination.
“I’m proud to have stood with the LGBTQ community and helped fight for equality throughout my career, but it’s clear there’s much more we need to do,” said John Hickenlooper. “I believe in an America where who you love or how you identify has no impact on your physical safety or ability to succeed. We will not achieve true equality in this country until that is the reality in which we all live. In the U.S. Senate, I will advocate for legislation that protects LGBTQ individuals against discrimination and furthers the cause of equal rights for every American. And to my friends in the LGBTQ community, happy Pride.”
“Yesterday I joined thousands of Coloradans marching to the capital, and one of our chants was ‘Black trans lives matter!’,” said former ambassador Dan Baer. “We need leadership in Washington that is focused on advancing civil rights. Instead, Cory Gardner has been a cheerful accomplice in advancing Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump’s hateful discriminatory agenda. As Senator, John Hickenlooper will build on his strong record as mayor and Governor as an ally of the LGBTQ community– he knows that the work is not done, and we deserve a Senator who will stand up for the rights and safety of all Coloradans.”
While Colorado has legal protections for the LGBTQ community, 30 states lack full legal protections against discrimination–this means that people there can be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The Equality Act would address this discrepancy and expand protections nationwide. It passed the House of Representatives last year on a bipartisan basis but stalled in the Senate where Cory Gardner has refused to support the bill.
John Hickenlooper has been a staunch supporter of the LGBTQ community his entire adult life. As Governor, he signed a law to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act in Colorado to include same-sex partners. And before marriage equality was the law of the land, he called a special session of the General Assembly to pass civil unions here in Colorado. Republicans stonewalled that effort, but he signed civil unions into law a year later.
As one of One Colorado’s Pro-Equality candidates, John is committed to supporting an inclusive, intersectional policy agenda for LGBTQ rights in the Senate.
You can read John’s LGBTQ Equality Agenda online HERE or read a summary of it HERE.
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