Where Does Clinton Vs. Trump Stand on LGBT {facts}
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Last year, a landmark Supreme Court ruling made marriage equality the law of the land in all 50 states. But fights over transgender bathroom access and last month's tragic shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando showed the nation that the battle for equality is far from over.
Both presidential candidates have tried to paint themselves as champions of the queer community. But where do they each stand on the issues that affect them the most? Here's a rundown.
Hillary Clinton: "Gay rights are human rights."
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is a strong proponent of LGBTQ rights, and she has received the endorsementof the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation's largest LGBTQ advocacy groups.
As secretary of state during President Barack Obama’s first term, Clinton fought for greater benefits for LGBTQ diplomats at the State Department and greater recognition of gay rights around the world, according to The Huffington Post. "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights," she said during a 2011 speech in Geneva, Switzerland, to mark International Human Rights Day.
However, some gay-rights activists have criticized Clinton for coming around on the issue relatively late, according to The New York Times — neither she nor Obama fully supported same-sex marriage during the 2008 presidential campaign. Others have questioned where Clinton stood on the issue when her husband, former President Bill Clinton, helped put two important anti-gay policies in place in the 1990s.
But many of those critics have come around to supporting Clinton, The Times reports. “We’ve seen our own family and friends evolve around us," Sarah Kate Ellis, president of the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, told The Times, "so it’s not out of context to see a politician evolve as well.”
Tim Kaine: An evolving vice-presidential candidate
Clinton's vice-presidential candidate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, has had a long evolution on gay rights. Like Obama and Clinton herself, Kaine long opposed same-sex marriage, preferring rights for same-sex couples that fell short of full marriage.
However, Kaine's come around on same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ issues as they've become more widely accepted. One of his first executive actions as governor of Virginia banned workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation (that part of the non-discrimination policy was later repealed by his successor, Republican Bob McDonnell.)
Despite his early opposition to same-sex marriage, the Human Rights Campaign says that Clinton's choice of Kaine for her vice-presidential candidate "bolsters" her cred with LGBTQ voters.
“Having proven time and time again that they have the experience, determination, and leadership needed to move equality forward for all Americans, we are confident Clinton and Kaine will tear down the walls of discrimination that hold all of us back," Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin said in a statement. “The stakes for LGBTQ people in this election couldn’t be higher, and the choice for pro-equality voters couldn’t be clearer.”
Donald Trump: "I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens."
Donald Trump is to the left of many Republicans on LGBTQ rights, but that doesn't necessarily make him an ally of the gay or transgender communities.
Since the horrific shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando last month that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, Trump has promoted himself as the LGBTQ community's best hope in this election. The shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, who was born in the United States, had been investigated by the FBI for ties to terrorism and pledged allegiance to an Islamic terrorist group during the attack.
In his speech to the Republican National Convention earlier this month, Trump said, "as your President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology, believe me."
However, many of Trump's policy positions tell a different story. He's said that if elected president, he would consider appointing Supreme Court justices who would overturn marriage equality. Trump's position on transgender bathroom access has shifted at different times in the campaign. And he has a history of making questionable comments about LGBTQ people. That leaves many feeling that Trump's record on LGBTQ rights is mixed, at best.
Mike Pence: A clearly anti-LGBTQ vice president.
If there's one person whose record isn't mixed, however, it's Trump's running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who signed anti-gay legislation that makes many kinds of discrimination legal across his state.
That's not to say that Trump and Pence don't have some LGBTQ support. But many aren’t buying it.
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