Human Rights Campaign
February 24, 2020

Human Rights Campaign Releases 2020 Presidential Questionnaire, Candidate Responses

WASHINGTON -- Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization released our 2020 Presidential Questionnaire and responses from the leading Democratic candidates.


2020 marks the most pro-equality field of Democratic Presidential candidates in U.S. history. Each candidate has released more detailed plans for LGBTQ people and LGBTQ equality than any field in history recognizing that LGBTQ voters and our pro-equality allies are a crucial constituency to court.

The release of candidate questionnaire responses is a crucial step in the Human Rights Campaign’s endorsement process. HRC asked 16 questions on topics ranging from the Equality Act to health care, and conversion therapy to immigration reform.

For the first time, our questionnaire asks the candidates for their plans to address the epidemic of violence facing transgender and gender non-conforming people, especially Black trans women. Since 2013, over 150 transgender and gender non-conforming people, almost entirely Black transgender women, have been killed. HRC strongly believes the federal government is uniquely poised to address this national problem.

“LGBTQ people are among the most politically engaged constituencies in the country, and Democratic presidential candidates are taking notice. The more than 11 million LGBTQ voters and 57 million Equality Voters -- LGBTQ voters and our allies -- are crucial members of the intersectional coalition that will oust President Trump in November,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “Throughout his administration, Trump has attacked LGBTQ people at every opportunity. From eliminating access to necessary health care to actively supporting discrimination in the workplace, Trump has put LGBTQ rights at risk. Our community is looking for a leader that understands the challenges we face each and every day and has substantive, realistic plans to overcome them. The Trump-Pence administration must be stopped and HRC will work nationwide through November to ensure that they are.”

HRC sent questionnaires to all Democratic presidential candidates earlier this year. We received questionnaires from Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Businessman Tom Steyer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. We did not receive responses from Representative Tulsi Gabbard ahead of publication. Should her campaign send responses, we will update the web site accordingly. Governor Deval Patrick and Businessman Andrew Yang sent responses but are not included in our public release or website because they have since suspended their campaigns.

Over the last two years, the Trump-Pence Administration has rescinded key protections for transgender students, appointed two new conservative justices to the Supreme Court, banned transgender troops from serving openly in the military, and has repeatedly sought to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in healthcare, housing, public accommodations and other aspects of life under the guise of “religious freedom.” Despite campaigning on a promise to be a “friend” to the LGBTQ community, President Trump designated Mike Pence as his vice president, and has refused to advance bipartisan federal civil rights legislation -- the Equality Act -- which overwhelmingly passed through the U.S. House of Representatives this spring.

These issues are of crucial importance to LGBTQ voters and allies. Today, there are an estimated minimum of 11 million LGBTQ voters nationwide -- along with millions of parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, and allies -- who will play a decisive role in the 2020 election. Since 2016, HRC has identified more than 57 million “Equality Voters” nationwide who prioritize LGBTQ-inclusive policies, including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

LGBTQ voters cast ballots in higher numbers than the general population in the 2018 midterm elections. LGBTQ voters cast more than 7 million ballots in all -- a turnout of roughly 70 percent, compared to a turnout of 49 percent among the general population -- and comprised 6 percent of the entire electorate, despite representing 4.5 percent of the voting age population.

In the 2018 midterms, HRC helped register more than 32,000 voters and recruited more than 4,200 volunteers, who worked over 8,500 shifts and clocked more than 30,000 volunteer hours. In the critical final four days of the campaign, HRC staff and volunteers in get-out-the-vote efforts alone knocked on more than 80,000 doors, and held 36,400 conversations with voters at their doors and by phone on behalf of our endorsed candidates. HRC's unprecedented grassroots mobilization represented an investment of approximately $26 million to recruit volunteers, mobilize constituents, register voters and grow the organization's grassroots army in an all-out effort to pull the emergency brake on the hateful anti-LGBTQ agenda of the Trump-Pence administration and elect a Congress that would hold them accountable.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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Question 1
In a majority of states, no explicit laws protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) Americans from discrimination, like the federal laws that exist on race, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability. If elected, would you support and sign into law the Equality Act (HR 5/S788), which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in credit, education, employment, federally funded programs, housing, jury service, and public spaces?

Question 2
The U.S. Constitution provides strong protections for individuals and organizations to exercise religion and to freely speak about beliefs. But some federal and state lawmakers are seeking to pass legislation, like the First Amendment Defense Act, that would create loopholes that could be used to deny equal treatment to LGBTQ people based on so-called "religious freedom" claims. Would you oppose efforts that allow individuals to use their religious beliefs as a justification to discriminate against LGBTQ people in the public sphere?

Question 3
Do you believe the civil institution of marriage (with absolutely no requirements imposed on houses of worship) should be legally available to two committed adults of the same sex?

Question 4
New treatments have improved the quality of life for those living with HIV and new prevention strategies can help reduce the risk of contracting HIV, but these medications are often too expensive and too difficult to access for those who need them. Do you support increased funding for HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and research?  

Question 5
Even as we experience increased transgender visibility, the levels of violence and harassment transgender people face – particularly transgender women of color – constitute a national crisis. The federal government has a critical role to play in preventing and addressing violence, including: expanding access to critical safety net programs to address issues like homelessness and job placement; implementing and enforcing rules that prohibit discrimination against transgender people by federally funded service providers; ensuring medically necessary transition-related care under the Affordable Care Act; ensuring the safety of those in jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers and robust enforcement of the federal hate crimes law. If elected President, will you support legislation and advance regulations and policies that prohibit discrimination against transgender people and prioritize a comprehensive federal response to address anti-transgender violence?
   
Question 6
While all states currently allow LGBTQ people to adopt children, some legislators are pushing to allow government funded child welfare agencies to prohibit capable, committed adults from adopting and fostering because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Do you support policies that require government funded child welfare agencies to make decisions on adoption and foster care based on the best interest of the child, without bans based on sexual orientation or gender identity?

Question 7
Bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students, as well as students perceived to be LGBTQ, is widespread. Would you support and sign into law the Safe Schools Improvement Act (H.R. 2653/S. 2548), which would require school districts receiving federal funding to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and religion?
    
Question 8
LGBTQ people in many parts of the world face harassment, legal and societal discrimination, violence, and bigotry. Seventy countries criminalize same-sex sexual activity. In up to ten countries, same-sex sexual activity may be punishable by death. Transgender and gender non-conforming people often face laws that criminalize them and put them at greater risk of experiencing violence and poor health. Do you believe that LGBTQ rights are human rights and that U.S. national security is strengthened when we work with other governments, civil society, and international organizations to protect, support, and defend the human rights of LGBTQ people abroad?

Question 9
If elected President, will you only put forth nominees for appointment to the Supreme Court that are committed to due process under the law and upholding the Equal Protection Clause for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity?

Question 10
If elected President, will you commit to making diverse appointments of qualified, openly LGBTQ individuals in key positions of your Administration, to include your Cabinet and the White House?

Question 11
There are approximately 15,500 actively serving transgender members of the U.S. military, making the Department of Defense the largest employer of transgender people in America. The Trump Administration has arbitrarily adopted a policy that bans qualified transgender people from service and will result in transgender service members losing their jobs. If elected President, will you expeditiously rescind the Trump policy and adopt new regulations allowing open service by all, qualified transgender people? 

Question 12
President Obama issued a historic Executive Order prohibiting discrimination against transgender employees of the federal government and prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. If elected President, will you leave that order in place and instruct all Departments to robustly enforce nondiscrimination protections?

Question 13
This questionnaire addresses most of the key federal issues impacting the LGBTQcommunity, but there are many others, including youth homelessness, the ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood, significant gaps in data collection, inability to access to medically-necessary health care, and critically important cultural competency training. If elected President, will you work to address the full range of LGBTQ concerns across the federal government?

Question 14
Please share policy positions not mentioned above that you have publicly taken on ballot measures, legislation or non-policy related matters that affect the LGBTQ community, including in legislatures, businesses, the legal realm or the media.

HRC works in coalition with many organizations to achieve equality and justice. Please indicate your positions on these key issues:

Question 15
Do you support the Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4/S. 561), a bill that protects access to the polls for all Americans by addressing the modern day challenges of voting discrimination and restoring the full protections of the Voting Rights Act?

Question 16
Do you support a woman’s right to make decisions about her own reproductive health, including a right to safe and accessible abortion?

Question 17
Do you support immigration reform with a path to legal citizenship for law-abiding residents currently in the United States?

Question 18
Do you support sensible gun safety measures including limiting access to assault-style rifles, expanding background checks, and limiting the ability for suspected terrorists and those with a history of domestic abuse to access guns?