America’s biggest LGBTQ group backs Joe Biden for president

Leading American LGBTQ rights group HRC has announced that it is supporting Joe Biden as its preferred candidate in the US presidential election later this year.

The group’s Board of Directors “unanimously and enthusiastically” voted to back the former vice president and presumptive Democratic Party nominee as “a president who stands up for all of us” on the 8th Anniversary of Biden’s endorsement of marriage equality.

“Vice President Joe Biden is the leader our community and our country need at this moment. His dedication to advancing LGBTQ equality, even when it was unpopular to do so, has pushed our country and our movement forward,” said HRC President Alphonso David.

He continued: “This November, the stakes could not be higher. Far too many LGBTQ people, and particularly those who are most vulnerable, face discrimination, intimidation, and violence simply because of who they are and who they love.”

David said that the endorsement was in light of the Trump administration spending “the last three and a half years rolling back and rescinding protections for LGBTQ people.” He called on the organisation’s more than three million members and supporters to “work day and night” to ensure that Biden is the next president of the United States.

Throughout his campaign, Biden, 77, has committed to advancing LGBTQ equality, said HRC, describing his LGBTQ platform as “the most comprehensive LGBTQ equality plan by a presumptive presidential nominee in our nation’s history.”

Biden has been a longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights, marriage equality and hate crime legislation. He has made a commitment to passing the Equality Act as president, which would finally give LGBTQ Americans federal protection against discrimination.

HRC did not address allegations by a former staff member, Tara Reade, that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 – a claim that he has vehemently denied.

Since becoming president in 2017, President Trump and his administration have sought to revoke protections for LGBTQ people in America. This has included banning transgender personnel in the military and supporting LGBTQ discrimination in schools, employment, healthcare and other services, based on so-called “religious freedom”.