LGBTQIA+ rights are human rights. 

No one benefits when we leave our friends, family, and neighbors behind in favor of personal gain or short-term wins. Too many voices in the Democratic establishment want us to abandon queer issues in favor of “electability” right when the Trump administration is making it more dangerous than ever for diverse identities to exist. 

We must expand protections for LGBTQIA+ people and end the criminalization of their identities. 

From housing to healthcare, our struggle is a shared one. While the cost of living in America skyrockets, young LGBTQIA+ people make up 40% of our homeless youth, even though they are only 7% of the youth population. In the face of a mounting employment crisis, LGBTQIA+ people face unemployment rates up to four times higher than the general population due to discrimination and Trump’s attacks on corporate DEI initiatives. As healthcare premiums spiral out of control, LGBTQIA+ people are twice as likely to be uninsured.

In Congress, I will vote for and introduce legislation to: 

• Make schools safe for LGBTQIA+ students by guaranteeing proper accommodations. 

• Grant asylum to refugees facing persecution due to their sexuality or gender identity. 

• End discrimination in healthcare and medical research. 

• Fight to allow transgender people to serve in the military.

• Fix employment disparities for queer people of color facing multiple levels of discrimination.   

The Trump administration has no plans to slow down its hateful rhetoric and persecution of queer people. They want us to blame the most vulnerable among us for our shared problems. We cannot fall victim to their fascist propaganda and cannot allow them to divide us. Standing together, united, gives us all the best chance to lead affordable, equal, dignified lives.