Since President Joe Biden announced on Sunday, July 21, that he would be dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, all eyes have been on Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden gave his full support to Harris to run in his place for the highest office in the nation, and since then, Harris has broken records for donations to her campaign and signed up over 30,000 volunteers. Zoom calls for Harris for Black women and Black men drew over 90,000 participants and raised millions.
LGBTQ+ organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, LGBTQ Victory Fund and Advocates for Trans Equality, have supported Harris and will host the “Out for Kamala Harris” call on Thursday, July 25.
So, what is Harris’ stance on LGBTQ+ issues? Based on her professional record, very strong.
As District Attorney of San Francisco:
- Marriage Equality: While serving as District Attorney, Harris was a vocal supporter of marriage equality.
- Anti-Discrimination Policies: Harris’s office created a hate crimes unit and supported policies to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination.
As Attorney General of California:
- Legal Protections: Harris’s office advocated for and defended laws that provided protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Prop 8: Harris played a crucial role in the legal battle against Proposition 8. She filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, arguing that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional and should be struck down. In videos now going viral on TikTok and social media platforms, Harris calls Los Angeles County clerks demanding that they start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying, “You must start the marriages immediately.”
As a U.S. Senator:
- Military Service: She opposed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
- Health and Safety: Harris introduced and supported the Do No Harm Act, which seeks to prevent the use of religious liberty as a justification for discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. Harris also introduced legislation to mandate that insurance companies cover HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
- High scores: Harris received a perfect score of 100 from HRC’s Congressional Scorecard in 2016.
In 2019, Harris was pressed by the Washington Blade about legal briefs brought by her office denying gender-affirming care for transgender inmates. Harris took “full responsibility” for said briefs. Harris did defend her position by saying that she worked behind the scenes to “ensure that the Department of Corrections would allow transitioning inmates to receive the medical attention that they required, they needed and deserved.”
As Vice President:
- Advocacy: Harris has continued to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and equality as Vice President. The Biden-Harris administration took several actions to protect the LGBTQ+ community, including reversing the transgender military ban and passing 2022’s Respect for Marriage Act. Harris has also been vocal about Project 2025’s extreme positions, vowing to eliminate the threat as President.
- Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour. In 2023, Harris traveled to colleges and universities across the country to speak to young voters about LGBTQ+ rights, voter rights, book bans and more.
- Pride Celebrations: Harris has actively participated in Pride events and has held her own Pride celebrations in Washington, D.C.
In her first official campaign video message, Harris speaks strongly about freedom (using Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” as the background) and includes LGBTQ+ people waving Pride flags in the montage.
News is Out will continue to cover Harris’ campaign and how her policies and views would affect the LGBTQ+ community.