I Got Your Back

What a breath of fresh air!

After four years of persecution by Trump and the pogrom by the Republicans we finally got a caring person back in the White House.

Biden Tells Trans Youth 'Your President Has Your Back'
The Advocate
By Trudy Ring
April 28, 2021


In his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Joe Biden ranged over a wide variety of issues but took time to call for passage of the Equality Act and give a shout-out to transgender Americans.

After promoting his proposed American Jobs Plan, American Families Plan, police reform, and other measures, he said, “I also hope Congress can get to my desk the Equality Act to protect the rights of LGBTQ Americans.”

“To all the transgender Americans watching at home — especially the young people who are so brave — I want you to know that your president has your back,” Biden added.
[…]
On his first day in office, January 20, Biden signed an executive order implementing last year’s Bostock v. Clayton County Supreme Court decision across the federal government. That ruling declared that anti-LGBTQ+ job discrimination is a form of sex discrimination and therefore illegal.

Not since President Obama was a pro trans person occupying the White House and I believe president Biden’s statement has given hope to the trans youth in Alabama, Arkansas, North and South Carolina, Texas, and the other Republican states that are oppressing trans youth a ray of hope.

Homelessness in the transgender community is very high. Four years ago I was doing training for homeless shelters around the state with other non-profits and HUD and when Trump came into office the HUD official was yanked from the training and now…

Biden admin scraps Trump-era proposal to limit trans protections at shelters
Transgender people are more likely to experience homelessness and face higher rates of discrimination at shelters.
NBC News
By Jo Yurcaba
April 22, 2021


The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday that transgender people would be protected from discrimination at federally funded homeless shelters.

The department said it would withdraw a rule proposed by the Trump administration in July that would’ve weakened the Obama-era Equal Access Rule, which ensures people have equal access to federally funded shelters and facilities regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

HUD will reaffirm the Equal Access Rule and require that transgender and gender-nonconforming people be housed in shelters in accordance with their gender identity.
[…]
The Trump administration intended to undo the Obama administration’s trans-inclusive policy, and it would have allowed employees at federally funded shelters, citing their religious beliefs, to turn away transgender people. Under the rule, shelters also would have been able to choose to only house trans people based on their assigned sex at birth as opposed to their gender identity.

I actually don’t think that many of the shelters will comply, I think that the only way to get them in compliance it with a hefty lawsuit or for HUD to cut their funding. Even then we will have to wait and see how the Supreme Court ruling the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia case where the Catholic Social Services believes that they have “Religious Freedom” right to discriminate.

The Biden administration has also appointed LGBTQ+ people to high government office as opposed to the last person sitting in the Oval Office who fired and discriminated against us.

Biden to Nominate Trans, Lesbian Officials to Department of Defense
The Biden administration continues to uplift LGBTQ+ representation in government with Shawn Skelly and Brenda Sue Fulton.
The Advocate
By Daniel Reynolds
April 23 2021


The Biden administration plans to nominate two LGBTQ+ officials to posts within the Department of Defense.

Shawn Skelly is the intended nominee for assistant secretary of defense for readiness. And Brenda Sue Fulton will be the nominee for assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs, a White House press official informed The Advocate.

Skelly, who is transgender, served 20 years as a naval flight officer, retiring with the rank of commander, and then in 2013 joined President Barack Obama’s administration as the first trans veteran appointed by a U.S. president. Her positions included special assistant to the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics at the Department of Defense and ultimately as the director of the Office of the Executive Secretariat at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

She most recently worked for CACI International, a company that provides technology and expertise for national security purposes, and she is cofounder and vice president of Out in National Security, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ people in the military, defense contracting, and related areas.

An article in the Hill by Rebecca Kheel about Biden's two appointees,

If confirmed as assistant secretary of Defense for readiness, Shawn Skelly would be the highest ever ranking openly transgender defense official.

Skelly, a former Navy aviator, most recently served on Biden’s Pentagon transition team.
[…]
Fulton is a former Army officer who was in the first U.S. Military Academy at West Point class to admit women. She was the first openly gay member of the academy’s Board of Visitors when then-President Obama appointed her in 2011.

President Biden has been busy in his first 100 days in office according to the, Center for American Progress he has...

Executive orders

• Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (EO 13988)
• Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (EO 13985)
• Executive orders to combat COVID-19 and ensure a data-driven and equitable response
• Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform (EO 14004)
• Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free From Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (EO 14021)

Other presidential actions

• Various actions in support of LGBTQ communities globally
• Presidential proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility

Actions from federal agencies

• Department of Justice takes action to support the Affordable Care Act
• HUD issues memorandum interpreting that the Bostock decision applies to the Fair Housing Act
• CFPB [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] issues interpretative rule strengthening LGBTQ discrimination protections
• Department of Education issues letter to address needs of LGBTQ students experiencing harassment, discrimination, and violence
• HHS proposes rule to restore access to family planning services
• DOJ files brief clarifying Eighth Amendment rights of incarcerated transgender people

Yes, he has our backs and all of the people backs that the Republicans are stabbing.