The first bill signed into law by Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, relaxing the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits. Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional 4 million uninsured children. In March 2009, Obama reversed a Bush-era policy that had limited funding of embryonic stem cell research and pledged to develop "strict guidelines" on the research. Obama appointed two women to serve on the Supreme Court in the first two years of his presidency. He nominated Sonia Sotomayor on May 26, 2009 to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter; she was confirmed on August 6, 2009, becoming the first Supreme Court Justice of Hispanic descent.
Domestic policy
Barack Obama
Barack Obama | Domestic policy
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, State Children's Health Insurance Program, etc Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009,  Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, etc.
who elected senators under the provisions of the constitution as originally ratified
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State legislative election.
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who proposed this amendment?
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The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII).
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when did it become the part of constitution?
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On April 8, 1913.
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what were the issues related to it?
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Legislative corruption and electoral deadlocks.
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who were reformers for the calls for constitutional amendment?
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Barack Obama (President), Joe Biden (Vice President), Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State), and Ken Salazar (Secretary of the Interior).
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who is the first one?
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He is an American politician and attorney who served as the 44th president of the United States.
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where was he from?
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Honolulu, Hawaii.
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what is his religious stance?
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Obama commented on his religious views, saying: I'm a Christian by choice.
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what did he do for lgbtq?
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He signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a measure that expanded the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
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which acts were signed by him in domestic policy?
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Thus, he did not repeal President Clinton's Executive Order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian government, but its critics felt it was ignored. He did not attempt to repeal Don't ask, don't tell, nor try to change it. He threatened to veto the Matthew Shepard Act, which would have included sexual orientation in hate crimes. While President Bush had always been on record as opposing the legal recognition of same-sex marriages, the 2004 Republican campaign strategy was to focus on "value issues" such as a Federal Marriage Amendment, that would prohibit same-sex couples from obtaining any legal recognition.
Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration | LGBT issues
On October 28, 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which added gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to the federal hate crimes law.
Social policy of the Barack Obama administration | LGBT and hate crimes
On October 8, 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a measure that expanded the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. On October 30, 2009, Obama lifted the ban on travel to the United States by those infected with HIV, which was celebrated by Immigration Equality. On December 22, 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which fulfilled a key promise made in the 2008 presidential campaign to end the don't ask, don't tell policy of 1993 that had prevented gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces.
Barack Obama | LGBT rights
During his presidency, Obama, Congress, and the Supreme Court all contributed to a huge expansion of LGBT rights. In 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded hate crime laws to cover crimes committed because of the victim's sexual orientation. In December 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which ended the military's policy of disallowing openly gay and lesbian people from openly serving in the United States Armed Forces. Obama also supported the passage of ENDA, which would ban discrimination against employees on the basis of gender or sexual identity for all companies with 15 or more employees, and the similar but more comprehensive Equality Act.
Presidency of Barack Obama | LGBT rights
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act expanded existing federal hate crime laws in the United States to apply to crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and dropped the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally protected activity.
Barack Obama | Legacy
The election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the United States (on the same day as the California ban on same-sex marriage was enacted) signified the beginning of a more nuanced federal policy to LGBT citizens. Obama advocated for the repeal of DADT, which was passed in December 2010, and also withdrew legal defense of DOMA in 2011, despite Republican opposition. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2010 was also the first major hate crimes legislation in federal legislation history to recognize gender identity as a protected class.
LGBT history in the United States | Presidency of Barack Obama
On October 28, 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which added gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to the federal hate crimes law. In October 2009, he nominated Sharon Lubinski to become the first openly gay U.S. marshal to serve the Minnesota district.
LGBT rights in the United States | First Term
On December 10, 2007, congressional powers attached bipartisan hate crimes legislation to a Department of Defense Authorization bill, although it failed to pass. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, said she was "still committed to getting the Matthew Shepard Act passed". Pelosi planned to get the bill passed in early 2008 although she did not succeed. Following his election as president, Barack Obama stated that he was committed to passing the Act.
Matthew Shepard | Hate crime legislation
On October 28, 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which added gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to the federal hate crimes law. In October 2009, he nominated Sharon Lubinski to become the first openly gay U.S. marshal to serve the Minnesota district.
LGBT history in the United States | 2009
As Governor of Texas, Bush had opposed efforts to repeal the criminal prohibition on "homosexual conduct", the same law that the United States Supreme Court overturned in 2003, "Lawrence v. Texas". During the 2000 campaign he did not endorse a single piece of gay rights legislation, although he did meet with an approved group of Log Cabin Republicans, a first for a Republican presidential candidate. In his first four years of office, his views on gay rights were often difficult to ascertain, but many experts feel that the Bush White House wanted to avoid bad publicity without alienating evangelical conservative Christian voters.
Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration | LGBT issues
The first bill signed into law by Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, relaxing the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits. Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional 4 million uninsured children. In March 2009, Obama reversed a Bush-era policy that had limited funding of embryonic stem cell research and pledged to develop "strict guidelines" on the research. Obama appointed two women to serve on the Supreme Court in the first two years of his presidency. He nominated Sonia Sotomayor on May 26, 2009 to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter; she was confirmed on August 6, 2009, becoming the first Supreme Court Justice of Hispanic descent.
Barack Obama | Domestic policy
On October 28, 2009 President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, attached to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which expanded existing United States federal hate crime law to apply to crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and dropped the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally protected activity.
Hate crime laws in the United States | Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009)
Obama nominated Elena Kagan on May 10, 2010 to replace retiring Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. She was confirmed on August 5, 2010, bringing the number of women sitting simultaneously on the Court to three justices for the first time in American history. On March 30, 2010, Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, a reconciliation bill that ended the process of the federal government giving subsidies to private banks to give out federally insured loans, increased the Pell Grant scholarship award, and made changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Barack Obama | Domestic policy
On March 15, 2007, Obama stated, "I do not agree...that homosexuality is immoral." During the July 23, 2007, CNN/YouTube debate, he further stated, "... we've got to make sure that everybody is equal under the law. And the civil unions that I proposed would be equivalent in terms of making sure that all the rights that are conferred by the state are equal for same-sex couples as well as for heterosexual couples." Obama supports expanding the protections afforded by hate crimes statutes to cover crimes committed against individuals because of sexual orientation or gender identity. He also called for full equality for gays during his second inaugural address on January 21, 2013, saying, "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well." This was the first time that a president mentioned gay rights or the word "gay" in an inaugural address.
Social policy of the Barack Obama administration | LGBT issues
Bush threatened to veto the bill if it passed. On October 22, 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and on October 28, 2009, President Obama signed the legislation into law. Dennis and his wife Mary announced Wyoming's votes in the roll call at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Dennis Shepard | Advocacy
"The Almanac of American Politics (2008)" rated Obama's overall social policies in 2006 as more conservative than 21% of the U.S. Senate, and more liberal than 77% of the Senate (18% and 77%, respectively, in 2005). In 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which ended a policy of not allowing gays, lesbians and bisexuals to state their sexual orientation openly in the military. In May 2012, he became the first sitting U.S. president to announce his support for legalizing same-sex marriage. During his second inaugural address on January 21, 2013, Obama called for full equality for people who are LGBT: "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well." This was a historic moment, being the first time that a president mentioned gay rights or the word "gay" in an inaugural address.
Political positions of Barack Obama | Social policy
In 2009, Price opposed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which extended the scope of federal hate crime laws to include crimes in which individuals are targeted due to their sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. Price also voted against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, which extended the original bill's protections to cover same-sex couples. In 2016, Price criticized the Obama administration's directive that allowed transgender students to use restrooms corresponding with their gender identity. On Facebook, Price wrote, "It is absurd that we need a 'federal restroom policy' for our nation's schools.
Tom Price (American politician) | LGBTQ rights
In October 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (commonly the "Matthew Shepard Act" or "Shepard/Byrd Act" for short), and on October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law. Following her son's murder, Judy Shepard became a prominent LGBT rights activist and established the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Shepard's death inspired films, novels, plays, songs, and other works.
Matthew Shepard | Introduction
Carhart". President Bush signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (Laci and Conner's Law), which provides that a person who commits certain federal violent crimes and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, a fetus shall be guilty of a separate offense, whether or not the person knew the mother was pregnant or intended to harm the fetus.
Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration | Abortion
Obama has said that he would sign into law the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which — if passed — would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. On July 21, 2014, Obama signed Executive Order 13672, adding "gender identity" to the categories protected against discrimination in hiring in the federal civilian workforce and both "sexual orientation" and gender identity" to the categories protected against discrimination in hiring and employment on the part of federal government contractors and sub-contractors.
Social policy of the Barack Obama administration | LGBT and anti-discrimination laws
Obama has said that he supports same sex couples adopting children. Obama extended the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to cover employees taking unpaid leave to care for the children of same-sex partners.
Social policy of the Barack Obama administration | LGBT adoption
No civil rights legislation for lesbian or gay individuals passed during Reagan's tenure. On the 1980 campaign trail, he spoke of the gay civil rights movement:
Domestic policy of the Ronald Reagan administration | Gay rights
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is an American Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 (H.R. 2647). Conceived as a response to the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., both in 1998, the measure expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The bill also:
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act | Introduction
Obama supported civil unions, but opposed same-sex marriage when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and for U.S. President in 2008. He supported civil unions that would carry equal legal standing to that of marriage for same-sex couples, but believed that decisions about the title of marriage should be left to the states. During his time as senator, Obama co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Tax Equity for Domestic Partner and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, and Early Treatment for HIV Act. In the 109th United States Congress, Obama received a score of 89% by the Human Rights Campaign.
LGBT rights in the United States | U.S. Senator from Illinois
He also stated his opposition to the U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, and signed a bill repealing it.
Social policy of the Barack Obama administration | LGBT in the military
As President, George H. W. Bush signed legislation that extended gay rights. On April 23, 1990, George H. W. Bush signed the Hate Crime Statistics Act, which requires the Attorney General to collect data on crimes committed because of the victim's race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. It was the first federal statute to "recognize and name gay, lesbian and bisexual people." On November 29, 1990, Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990, which withdrew the phrase "sexual deviation" from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) so that it could no longer be used as a basis for barring entry of immigration to the U.S.
LGBT conservatism in the United States | Presidency of George H. W. Bush
On April 29, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend federal law to classify as "hate crimes" attacks based on a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity (as well as mental or physical disability). The U.S. Senate passed the bill on October 22, 2009. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009.
History of violence against LGBT people in the United States | 2000–2009
A 2014 order prohibited discrimination against employees of federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2015, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter ended the ban on women in combat roles, and in 2016, he ended the ban on transgender individuals openly serving in the military. On the international stage, Obama advocated for gay rights, particularly in Africa.
Presidency of Barack Obama | LGBT rights
Our nation has been rewarded for this commitment. Since the Act's passage in 1994, domestic violence has dropped by almost 50%." He has also said that the Act "empower[s] women to make changes in their lives, and by training police and prosecutors to arrest and convict abusive husbands instead of telling them to take a walk around the block".
Political positions of Joe Biden | Women's rights
The hazing scandal received widespread media attention at a time when President Barack Obama faced increasing pressure from LGBT rights advocates and members of his own party to end the exclusionary "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevented gay people from serving openly in the military. Obama promised to repeal DADT during his 2008 presidential campaign and reiterated that promise in a speech to LGBT lobbying organization the Human Rights Campaign delivered on October 10, 2009. LGBT advocates had been dissatisfied with what they perceive as a lack of action within the Obama administration on a series of LGBT issues, including DADT repeal, passage of the Employment Non-discrimination Act which would make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illegal, repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which prevented the federal government from legally recognizing same-sex marriages and the administration's defense of DOMA in a case before the Supreme Court.
United States Navy dog handler hazing scandal | Don't ask, don't tell
The issue was dropped, and the status quo maintained. Bush has been increasingly forced to defend his actions on many fronts and has been unable to generate widespread support in the nation as a whole. After the Democratic Party regained control of both houses of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections, MSNBC reported that "The war in Iraq, scandals in Congress and declining support for Bush and Republicans on Capitol Hill defined the battle for House and Senate control".
Public image of George W. Bush | Domestic policy
Dreier initially supported the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. Joining columnists like William Raspberry in opposing "thought police," Dreier voted against the Matthew Shepard Act that expanded federal hate-crimes law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Dreier initially supported the Don't ask, don't tell policy, which prevented LGBT members of the armed forces from serving openly. However, in December 2010, Dreier voted in favor of legislation that repealed the policy. Dreier opposed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
David Dreier | Gay rights
Economic policy actions Other domestic policy actions Foreign policy actions Supreme Court nominations
Presidency of Barack Obama | Major acts and legislation
Conor Friedersdorf of "The Atlantic" argued that after the 2012 presidential election, Rubin criticized aspects of the Mitt Romney campaign that she had previously praised, with Friedersdorf insisting that she had acted as "a disingenuous mouthpiece for her favored candidate". In a November 21, 2013, column, Rubin called on the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to end its campaign against same-sex marriage.
Jennifer Rubin (columnist) | Domestic policy views
The bill was introduced for the fourth time into the House on March 30, 2007, by Conyers. The 2007 version of the bill added gender identity to the list of suspect classes for prosecution of hate crimes. The bill was again referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. The bill passed the subcommittee by voice vote and the full House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 20–14. The bill then proceeded to the full House, where it was passed on May 3, 2007, with a vote of 237–180 with Representative Barney Frank, one of two openly gay members of the House at the time, presiding.
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act | 110th Congress
In the 2008 US presidential campaign, Obama boasted to gay Democratic groups of her husband's record on LGBT rights: his support of the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois gender violence act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, and full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, civil unions; along with hate crimes protection for sexual orientation and gender identity and renewed effort to fight HIV and AIDS. They have both opposed amendments proposed to ban same-sex marriage in the federal, California, and Florida constitutions. She said that the US Supreme Court delivered justice in the "Lawrence v.
Michelle Obama | LGBT rights
In 2010, Obama signed into effect the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Passed as a response to the financial crisis of 2007–08, it brought the most significant changes to financial regulation in the United States since the regulatory reform that followed the Great Depression under Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 2009, Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which contained in it the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the first addition to existing federal hate crime law in the United States since Democratic President Bill Clinton signed into law the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996.
Barack Obama | Legacy
In October 1982, after President Reagan appointed two new members to the board of the Legal Services Corporation, Inouye was one of 32 Senators to sign a letter expressing grave concerns over the appointments. On December 23, Inouye voted against a 5 cent a gallon increase on gasoline taxes across the US imposed to aid the financing of highway repairs and mass transit. The bill passed on the last day of the 97th United States Congress. In March 1984, Inouye voted against a constitutional amendment authorizing periods in public school for silent prayer and against President Reagan's unsuccessful proposal for a constitutional amendment permitting organized school prayer in public schools.
Daniel Inouye | Domestic policy
It was not until the White House came under Democratic control, however, that any significant legislative progress toward the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was made. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the legislation repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in December 2010. In 2013, Guerriero was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.
Patrick Guerriero | Log Cabin Republicans
President Bush endorsed this proposed amendment, but late in the campaign told ABC News and Larry King that he did not have a problem with state legislators enacting some type of civil unions legislation, although critics charged that the constitutional amendment he endorsed did not permit recognition of such unions.
Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration | LGBT issues
He is anti-abortion and has been attacked by the pro-choice group NARAL. He sided with conservatives in the 2005 Terri Schiavo case, voting for federal court intervention. In more recent years, he has advocated and defended funding for Planned Parenthood. He has mostly sided with Democratic leaders on gay rights issues, opposing a Federal Marriage Amendment and supporting granting medical benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. He supports same-sex marriage.
Stephen F. Lynch | Domestic policy
Domestic criticism of Bush has waxed and waned throughout his administration. Before 9/11, Bush was reviled by the bulk of the American left, mostly for his role in the controversial 2000 election, and for his No Child Left Behind education program. The next major domestic item which Bush faced significant opposition to was his program of tax cuts, codified in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Both acts ultimately passed, but calls for their repeal lasted until the end of the 2004 campaign. Democratic candidate Howard Dean in particular called for a repeal of the part of the tax cuts which affected the wealthiest Americans in order to fund public health care programs and reduce the federal deficit.
Public image of George W. Bush | Domestic policy
Bush placed emphasis on balancing the federal budget, eliminating excessive earmarks, changing the tax code to replace the existing business tax exemption to workers health insurance premiums with a new personal health insurance deduction, providing health care for needy individuals, and expanding health savings accounts. Bush supported "laws that are fair and borders that are secure" in regards to immigration, suggesting a temporary worker program, stating that, "[a]s a result, they won't have to try to sneak in". He suggested resolving the status of current illegal residents "without animosity and without amnesty". Bush said the United States has been dependent on foreign oil for too long, and that this chances placing it in hostile situations.
2007 State of the Union Address | Domestic policy
He commented that homosexuals should not serve in the military, stating "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion" and in 2010 stated that repealing Don't ask, don't tell would "have an impact on unit cohesion." Pence opposed the 2009 Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act stating that Obama would "advance a radical social agenda" and said that pastors "could be charged or be subject to intimidation for simply expressing a Biblical worldview on the issue of homosexual behavior."
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Indiana) | Background
Barack Obama took many definitively pro-LGBT stances. In March 2009, his administration reversed Bush administration policy and signed the U.N. declaration that calls for the decriminalization of homosexuality. In June 2009, Obama became the first president to declare the month of June to be LGBT pride month; President Clinton had declared June Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Obama did so again in June 2010, June 2011, June 2012, June 2013, June 2014, June 2015, and June 2016. On June 17, 2009, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum allowing same-sex partners of federal employees to receive certain benefits. The memorandum does not cover full health coverage.
LGBT rights in the United States | First Term
In June 2010, he expanded the Family Medical Leave Act to cover employees taking unpaid leave to care for the children of same-sex partners. On December 22, 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 into law.
LGBT history in the United States | 2010
Bush's weekly radio addresses. President Obama signed into law the following significant legislation during his first 100 days in the White House: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2009 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Also during his first 100 days, the Obama administration reversed the following significant George W. Bush administration policies: supporting the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, relaxing enforcement of cannabis laws and lifting the 7½-year ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Obama also issued Executive Order 13492, ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, although it remained open throughout his presidency.
History of the United States Democratic Party | Presidency of Barack Obama (2009–2017)
President Obama, Secretary of Defense Panetta and Admiral Mullen provided the certification to authorize the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act. Implementation of the repeal was completed sixty days later, so that DADT was no longer policy as of September 2011.
LGBTQ Nation | 2011
In December 2008, Obama called for repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). On May 15, 2008, in a statement in response to the ruling of the California Supreme Court, Obama announced his opposition to Proposition 8, an initiative measure proposed for the 2008 California General Election ballot that would amend the California Constitution to define the word "marriage" as the union of a man and a woman. In a letter that he read to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club on June 29, 2008, Obama reiterated his opposition to the proposed amendment, stating that he supported the extension of "fully equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples under both state and federal law."
Social policy of the Barack Obama administration | Same-sex marriage
In response to the amendment's introduction, the Obama administration threatened to veto the bill. The amendment was rejected by a vote of 60–38 (with 2 abstaining). Udall subsequently voted for the Act in the joint session of Congress that passed it, and though he remained "extremely troubled" by the detainee provisions, he promised to "push Congress to conduct the maximum amount of oversight possible".
Mark Udall | Domestic security
The 2012 Democratic Party platform endorsed the principle that no one should face discrimination based on their gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity, such as transgender, gay, lesbian and/or bisexual support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, anti-bullying prevention for LGBT youth, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Democrats also supported President Obama's presidential memorandum on April 15, 2010, granting patients to receive visitors and to designate surrogate decision makers for medical emergencies, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's March 29, 2012, update of the Customs Declarations Form that same-sex couples and their children can go through Customs when re-entering the country together instead of being forced to split up, marriage equality, and the Respect for Marriage Act.
Political positions of the Democratic Party | LGBTQIA+ rights
President Barack Obama's 2008 political platform endorsed the repeal of DOMA. On June 12, 2009, the Justice Department issued a brief defending the constitutionality of DOMA in the case of "Smelt v. United States", continuing its longstanding practice of defending all federal laws challenged in court. On June 15, 2009, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese wrote an open letter to Obama that asked for actions to balance the DOJ's courtroom position: "We call on you to put your principles into action and send legislation repealing DOMA to Congress." A representative of Lambda Legal, an LGBT impact litigation and advocacy organization, noted that the Obama administration's legal arguments omitted the Bush administration's assertion that households headed by opposite-sex spouses were better at raising children than those headed by same-sex spouses.
Defense of Marriage Act | Obama administration
Ohio's hate crime law addresses violence based on race, color, religion or national origin, but not sexual orientation or gender identity. However, since the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" was signed into law in October 2009 by President Barack Obama, U.S. federal law has addressed crimes motivated by the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Hate crimes against LGBT people can be prosecuted in federal court The "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act", also known as the "Matthew Shepard Act", is an Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the "National Defense Authorization Act for 2010" (H.R.
LGBT rights in Ohio | Hate crime law
President Barack Obama has taken many definitive pro-LGBT rights stances. In 2009, his administration reversed Bush administration policy and signed the U.N. declaration that calls for the decriminalization of homosexuality. In June 2009, Obama became the first president to declare the month of June to be LGBT pride month; President Clinton had declared June Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Obama did so again in June 2010, June 2011, June 2012, June 2013, June 2014, and June 2015. On June 17, 2009, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum allowing same-sex partners of federal employees to receive certain benefits. The memorandum does not cover full health coverage.
LGBT history in the United States | 2009
John Henry Coatsworth, a historian of Latin America and the provost of Columbia University, suggests the number of repression victims in Latin America alone far surpassed that of the USSR and its East European satellites during the period 1960 to 1990. W. John Green contends that the United States was an "essential enabler" of "Latin America's political murder habit, bringing out and allowing to flourish some of the region's worst tendencies". On December 6, 2011, Obama instructed agencies to consider LGBT rights when issuing financial aid to foreign countries. He also criticized Russia's law discriminating against gays, joining other western leaders in the boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
Foreign policy of the United States | Human rights
Before and after the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, some Jews, including United States Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, questioned Obama's commitment to Israeli security. Obama maintained that he supports Israel and said he would continue the U.S. alliance with Israel as president. The Democratic candidate ultimately carried the state of Florida, with its large Jewish population, in the general election, signaling that his efforts to assuage the concerns of Israeli partisans had been at least moderately successful. In January 2009, then-President-elect Obama expressed "concern" over heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but said he would leave it to the outgoing Bush administration to express the official U.S.
Middle Eastern foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration | Israel
Ambassador and the first to be confirmed by the Senate. He did not repeal any of the spousal benefits that Clinton had introduced for same-sex federal employees. He did not attempt to repeal Don't ask, don't tell, nor make an effort to change it. In April 2002, White House officials held an unannounced briefing in April for the Log Cabin Republicans. On June 27, 2002, President Bush has signed a bill allowing death benefits to be paid to domestic partners of firefighters and police officers who die in the line of duty, permanently extending a federal death benefit to same-sex couples for the first time.
LGBT conservatism in the United States | Presidency of George W. Bush
Since its founding, the organization lobbied for passage of federal, statewide, and local hate crimes prevention legislation. On October 22, 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. The Act of Congress was signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 (H.R. 2647). Conceived as a response to the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., the measure expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
Matthew Shepard Foundation | Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
She had previously served as the Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2010 after serving as Policy Director of the Obama for America campaign.
Heather Higginbottom | Introduction
Critics claimed that this was an infringement of the separation of church and state.
Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration | Faith-based initiatives
In May 2013, Hastings denounced President Barack Obama's foreign policy, and accused MSNBC contributor Perry Bacon, Jr., of being a "stenographer" for the White House.
Michael Hastings (journalist) | President Obama's foreign policy
special operations; Obama’s announcement of his support for gay marriage; Obama’s election to a second term; the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut; the passage of the American Tax Relief Act, which raised rates on high earners while extending tax breaks for most Americans; the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare; the government shutdown of October 2013; the shooting of Trayvon Martin; and the imposition of sanctions against Russia for its invasion and occupation of Crimea.
Jay Carney | White House Press Secretary
In the face of international outrage, U.S. government officials defended the PRISM surveillance program by asserting it could not be used on domestic targets without a warrant, that it helped to prevent acts of terrorism, and that it received independent oversight from the federal government's executive, judicial and legislative branches. In June 2013, Obama stated that the NSA's data gathering practices constitute "a circumscribed, narrow system directed at us being able to protect our people." In 2015, Obama signed the USA Freedom Act, which extended several provisions of the Patriot Act but ended the collection of bulk telephone records by the NSA.
Presidency of Barack Obama | Foreign and domestic surveillance
Posey voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which made it a federal offence to commit a violent crime because of the victim's race, sex, etc., even without any federal nexus, and also added sexuality to the list of such grounds.
Bill Posey | LGBT rights
The 2012 platform included support for same-sex marriage and for the repeal of DOMA. On May 9, 2012, Barack Obama became the first sitting president to say he supports same-sex marriage. Previously, he had opposed restrictions on same-sex marriage such as the Defense of Marriage Act, which he promised to repeal, California's Prop 8, and a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage (which he opposed saying that "decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been"), but also stated that he personally believed marriage to be between a man and a woman and that he favored civil unions that would "give same-sex couples equal legal rights and privileges as married couples".
Democratic Party (United States) | LGBT rights
Also that same day, he signed AB 1003 into law, which expands access for LGBT service providers to a state fund that supports LGBT-specific domestic violence programs across the state and is subsidized by a $23 fee on new domestic partner registrations. Also that same day, he vetoed AB 1185, which would have allowed qualified transgender people born in California to return to the county of their birth to obtain a new birth certificate reflecting the correct gender, as well as any accompanying name change. Also that same day, he signed SB 273, which changes the definition of domestic violence to mean the infliction or threat of physical harm against past or present adult or adolescent intimate partners, to include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse against the partner, that is a part of a pattern of assaultive, coercive, and controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance from, or control over, that partner.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and LGBT rights | 2009
He called the present situation "racist and inappropriate".
George Weah | Domestic policy
Rohrabacher voted to repeal Obamacare, disputed evidence of man-made global warming, was a staunch opponent of illegal immigration, and favored the legalization of cannabis. In foreign policy, he supported withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan, called for Trump to punish Turkish President Erdoğan on embassy violence, sided with Russia in the Russia–Georgia war, gave a qualified defense of the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and supported cooperating with Russia in Syria. Rohrabacher was warned in 2012 in a secure room at the Capitol building by an agent from the FBI that Russian spies may have been trying to recruit him to act on Russia's behalf as an "agent of influence", after he met with a member of the Russian foreign ministry privately in Moscow.
Dana Rohrabacher | Domestic political positions
Obama supported legalizing same-sex marriage when he first ran for the Illinois Senate in 1996. Also, he was undecided about legalizing same-sex marriage when he ran for re-election to the Illinois Senate in 1998. He even supported civil unions but not same-sex marriage when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and for U.S. President in 2008. Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. However, in a 2008 interview, he stated that he personally believed that marriage was "between a man and a woman" and that he was "not in favor of gay marriage." He supported civil unions that would establish legal standing equal to that of marriage for same-sex couples, but believed that decisions regarding the definition of the word "marriage" should be left to the states.
Social policy of the Barack Obama administration | Same-sex marriage
The idea of the 'menacing lesbian wife' and generally conservative gendered models of marriage were propagated though mainstream culture. These ideas were undermined however by the presence of women in the workforce and burgeoning visibility of queer men and women in media. Additionally, employment rates in 1964 show 43% of the workforce was married women with children in school. During the Cold War, politicians attempted to systematise New Deal social welfare into state policies to buttress the nuclear family unit model, ensuring the male as a necessary part of the family as the "breadwinner". The trope of the menacing lesbian wife was designed to counter good American values and thus promote domestic containment ideals.
Domestic containment | Female sexuality
Even after the decriminalization of same-sex sexual activity, LGBT persons have continued to be targeted—violently and non-violently—by individuals who claim any degree of emotional or religious motivation for their crimes. This phenomenon has been variously attributed to the influence of institutional and authoritarian homophobia in various environments. The torture and murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1998 became a rallying moment for activism against hate crimes, and the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed in 2009 under President Barack Obama; the Act was also the first federal legislation of any purpose to specifically refer to transgender persons.
LGBT in the United States | Hate crimes
In 2013, Representatives Luis Vega Ramos, Carlos Vargas Ferrer and José Báez Rivera introduced "House Bill 488" to extend domestic violence protections to all households, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. The House passed the legislation on 24 May. Governor Garcia Padilla signed the legislation into law on 29 May.
LGBT rights in Puerto Rico | Domestic violence
Obama said that his opposition was because of technical language he felt might have "interfered with a woman's right to choose" and said Illinois law "already required medical care in such situations." Obama voted against a bill that would have made it a federal crime for anybody other than a parent to accompany a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion.
Social policy of the Barack Obama administration | Abortion and contraception
Bush and the Democratic Party; the former for his domestic and foreign policies, the latter for what he claims is its inability to provide a true, progressive alternative to the Republican party. During the Clinton era, most of his posters were critical of President Bill Clinton's military actions, and policies such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Communications Decency Act, and the Defense of Marriage Act. Since the 2006 mid-term elections, he has been more critical of the Democratic Party, particularly Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. In addition to national politics, Flugennock is often critical of D.C.
Mike Flugennock | Introduction
They also cited the response to Shepard's murder by many LGBT people, especially youth, who reported going back into the closet, fearing for their safety, experiencing a strong sense of self-loathing, and upset that the same thing could happen to them because of their sexual orientation.
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act | Origin
The bill passed the Senate when the Defense bill passed on July 23, 2009. As originally passed, the House version of the defense bill did not include the hate crimes legislation, requiring the difference to be worked out in a Conference committee. On October 7, 2009, the Conference committee published the final version of the bill, which included the hate crimes amendment; the conference report was then passed by the House on October 8, 2009. On October 22, 2009, following a 64–35 cloture vote, the conference report was passed by the Senate by a vote of 68–29. The bill was signed into law on the afternoon of October 28, 2009, by President Barack Obama.
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act | Passage
Clinton ultimately accepted the don't ask, don't tell policy, and over the ensuing ten years approximately 10,000 people were discharged from the military after they revealed their homosexuality. In September 1996, Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages. On taking office, Clinton revoked a gag order that had prevented abortion counseling in federally funded clinics. He also signed an executive order allowing the use of fetal tissue in medical research. These early policies moves signaled Clinton's break with the socially conservative policies of his predecessors. Clinton also signed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which made it a federal crime to obstruct abortion clinics and places of worship.
Presidency of Bill Clinton | Social issues
McCarthy was a supporter of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage and banned same-sex couples from receiving federal spousal benefits; after President Barack Obama instructed the Justice Department not to defend the law in court, McCarthy supported House Republicans' legal defense of the law. When the DOMA case reached the Supreme Court in 2013, McCarthy joined Boehner and Eric Cantor in signing a brief urging the Court to uphold the law.
Kevin McCarthy (California politician) | LGBT rights
The administration rolled back numerous LGBT protections, in particular those implemented during the Obama administration, covering issues such as health care, education, employment, housing, military, and criminal justice, as well as foster care and adoption. The administration sought to rescind rules prohibiting adoption and foster care agencies funded by the government from discriminating against LGBT adoption and foster parents. The DOJ reversed its position on whether the Civil Rights Act's workplace protections covered LGBT individuals, and the DOJ argued in state and federal courts for a constitutional right for businesses to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Presidency of Donald Trump | LGBT rights
However, a sentence was added onto the end of bill stating that federal funds should not be used to "promote or encourage homosexuality". According to FBI statistics, of the over 113,000 hate crimes since 1991, 55% were motivated by racial bias, 17% by religious bias, 14% sexual orientation bias, 14% ethnicity bias, and 1% disability bias. Although not necessarily on the same scale as Matthew Shepard's murder, violent incidences against gays and lesbians occur frequently. Gay and lesbian people are often verbally abused, assaulted both physically and sexually, and threatened not just by peers and strangers, but also by family members.
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act | Background
While in the Senate, Biden voted in 1993 for a broad defense bill that included the "don't ask, don't tell" law on LGBT service in the U.S. military, after voting to remove the amendment. As vice president, Biden supported the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which repealed the prohibition on open service by gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in the U.S. military. In 1996, Biden voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act which prohibited the federal government from recognizing any same-sex marriage, barring individuals in such marriages from equal protection under federal law, and allowing states to do the same.
Political positions of Joe Biden | LGBTQ issues
The act was reintroduced in the 111th Congress on May 20, 2009. The measure is sponsored by Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) & Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in the House of Representatives and by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) & Susan Collins (R-ME) in the Senate. The legislation has 140 cosponsors in the House and 31 in the Senate as of May 27, 2010. In May 2009, Rep. Barney Frank told an interviewer from the "Washington Blade" that he believed supporters of the act "have a shot" at passing the bill. On June 17, 2009, President Obama announced his support for the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act, which he called "crucial legislation that will guarantee these rights for all federal employees." On November 18, 2009, the bill was reported out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by a vote of 23-12.
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act | 111th Congress
Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton. Kevin Lewis, spokesperson to Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, also said (in apparent reference to the order) that the ex-president "fundamentally disagrees" with religious discrimination. SCOTUS judge Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent detailing the racially motivated bias she believes to be at play in the formation of this play, concluding that it was driven by "anti-Muslim animus, rather than by the Government’s asserted national-security justifications". Among Republicans, some praised the order, with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan saying that Trump was "right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country" while noting that he supported the refugee resettlement program.
Reactions to Executive Order 13769 | Domestic political reaction
In April 2011, Casada tried to repeal a workplace non-discrimination bill for sexual orientation and gender identity in Nashville. In an interview, he explained he was trying to "create a uniform environment across the state, similar to what the interstate commerce clause does for our country." The bill was supported by David Fowler's socially conservative Family Action Council of Tennessee, and the Log Cabin Republicans were opposed to it. In November 2015, Casada said he wanted to stop admitting Syrian refugees in Tennessee. He also wanted to return those who were already in the state to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Glen Casada | Other Actions
In April 2009, Boren voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Also, in December 2010, Boren joined 15 other House Democrats to vote against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.
Dan Boren | LGBT issues
Obama specified in his official memorandum those people who are to be members of the Task Force. Those individuals include Joe Biden or his designee; Valerie Jarrett or her designee; the Attorney General; the Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Health and Human Services; the Secretary of Education; the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy; the Director of the Domestic Policy Council; the Cabinet Secretary; and agency or office heads as may be designated by the co-chairs.
White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault | Members
In 1994, Romney sent a letter to the Log Cabin Republicans saying that he would be a stronger advocate for gay rights in the Senate than his opponent at the time, Senator Edward M. Kennedy. His letter included the phrase "We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern." In 2002, Romney spoke regarding domestic partnership benefits, saying, "All citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of their sexual orientation." Romney said that domestic partnership status should be recognized in a way that includes the potential for health benefits and rights of survivorship. In 1994, Romney said he supported the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a federal legislative proposal to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the workforce, but by 2006 he had changed his mind and opposed it, saying that it would "unfairly penalize employers at the hands of activist judges.
Political positions of Mitt Romney | LGBT rights
In March and April 2012, Obama expressed his opposition to state constitutional bans on same-sex marriage in North Carolina, and Minnesota. On May 3, 2012, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has agreed to add an LGBT representative to the diversity program at each of the 120 prisons it operates in the United States. On May 9, 2012, Obama publicly supported same-sex marriage, the first sitting U.S. President to do so. Obama told an interviewer that: In the 2012 election, Obama received the endorsement of the following gay rights organizations: Equal Rights Washington, Fair Wisconsin, Gay-Straight Alliance, Human Rights Campaign, and the National Stonewall Democrats.
LGBT history in the United States | 2012
During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Ed Show", Rohrabacher accused Barack Obama of allowing violence in Iran to get out of hand because he did not speak forcefully enough against the country's leadership. He also said that Gorbachev tore down the Berlin Wall because Reagan told him to ("Tear down this wall").
Dana Rohrabacher | Other foreign policy
In February 2017, President Trump rescinded federal requirements giving transgender students the right to choose the school restroom matching their gender identity. In response, Jenner tweeted "Well @realDonaldTrump, from one Republican to another, this is a disaster. You made a promise to protect the LGBTQ community. Call me." In April 2017, Jenner said she was in favor of same-sex marriage.
Caitlyn Jenner | Politics
McCarthy opposed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, which added perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disabilities as protected classes under existing federal hate crimes law. He has voted against the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007.
Kevin McCarthy (California politician) | Hate crimes
Bush signed the Amber Alert legislation into law on April 30, 2003, which was developed to quickly alert the general public about child abductions using various media sources. On July 27, 2006 Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act which establishes a national database requiring all convicted sex offenders to register their current residency and related details on a monthly instead of the previous yearly basis. Newly convicted sex offenders will also face longer mandatory incarceration periods.
Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration | Amber Alert
The Attorney General commented that the "state might consider a more scholarly and legally sound definition of "sexual orientation"." The state Supreme Court upheld Duncan's hate crime charge in April 2016. Although gender identity is not addressed, federal law has covered this category since 2009, when the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" was signed into law by President Barack Obama.
LGBT rights in Nebraska | Hate crime law
In September 2000, both houses of Congress passed such legislation; however it was stripped out in conference committee. On March 20, 2007, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act () was introduced as federal bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Congress, sponsored by Democrat John Conyers with 171 co-sponsors. Shepard's parents attended the introduction ceremony. The bill passed the House of Representatives on May 3, 2007. Similar legislation passed in the Senate on September 27, 2007 (), however then-President George W. Bush indicated he would veto the legislation if it reached his desk. The Democratic leadership dropped the amendment in response to opposition from conservative groups and Bush, and because the measure was attached to a defense bill there was a lack of support from antiwar Democrats.
Matthew Shepard | Hate crime legislation
Amid a 2019 public debate in France about women wearing hijabs in public, Jacob demanded that clothing restrictions applied to teachers and students be extended to parents who sign up for class trips. In an interview with "Le Figaro" newspaper, he said: "The veil should be banned on all school time. Not just on school premises".
Christian Jacob (politician) | Domestic policy
In 2016, the Pentagon also ended the policy that barred transgender people from serving openly in the military.
Barack Obama | LGBT rights
During Giuliani's mayoralty, gays and lesbians in New York asked for domestic partnership rights. Giuliani in turn pushed the Democratic-controlled City Council, which had avoided the issue for years, to pass legislation providing broad protection for same-sex partners. In 1998, he signed the local law that granted all city employees equal benefits for their domestic partners. Empire State Pride Agenda, a LGBT political advocacy group, described the law as "a new national benchmark for domestic partner recognition."
Mayoralty of Rudy Giuliani | Gay rights
During Giuliani's mayoralty of New York City, gay and lesbian residents asked for domestic partnership rights. Giuliani, in turn, pushed the city's Democratic-controlled City Council, which had avoided the issue for years, to pass legislation providing broad protection for same-sex partners. "Fulfilling a promise made to the Pride Agenda in October 1997, on July 7 Mayor Rudolph Giuliani signed into law historic legislation broadly extending recognition of domestic partners in New York City." In 1998, he codified local law by granting all city employees equal benefits for their domestic partners. For this reform, the Empire State Pride Agenda, an LGBT political advocacy group, hailed this law as establishing "a new national benchmark for domestic partner recognition." During his aborted 2000 run for office in the U.S.
Political positions of Rudy Giuliani | LGBT issues
On January 30, 2017, Donald Trump said he would keep in place a 2014 executive order from the Obama administration which created federal workplace protections for LGBT people. The White House released a statement saying the President was "respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights" and noted that he was the first Republican nominee to raise the issue (in his acceptance speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention). However, in March 2017, the Trump administration rolled back key components of the Obama administration's workplace protections for LGBT people. The Trump administration rescinded requirements that federal contractors prove they are complying with the LGBT workplace protections, which makes it difficult to tell if a contractor had refrained from discriminatory practices against LGBT individuals.
Social policy of Donald Trump | LGBT anti-discrimination laws
Davis recognized the domestic partnerships registry in 1999 and, in 2001, gave same-sex partners a few of the rights enjoyed by opposite-sex spouses such as making health care decisions for an incapacitated partner, acting as a conservator and inheriting property. He also signed a bill to prevent disqualification from a jury based on sexual orientation. Additionally, he signed a bill allowing employees to use family leave to care for a domestic partner, though he didn't make good on a campaign promise to convene a task force on civil unions.
Gray Davis | Domestic partnerships