President Bernie Sanders Would Overturn 'Outrageous' Anti-LGBT Laws in Miss., N.C.

Bernie Sanders believes that people should be judged on the content of their character, "not on the color of their skin — or their gender or their sexual orientation," he said Friday.

Sunnivie Brydum

Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.

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Sunnivie Brydum

April 09 2016 8:35 AM EST

October 31 2024 7:13 AM EST

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Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders sat down with the women of ABC's The View on Friday, for a wide-ranging discussion that saw the Vermont Senator double down on his earlier condemnations of anti-LGBT laws recently passed in North Carolina and Mississippi.

Sanders contrasted his opposition to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's support, noting that her husband, former president Bill Clinton, signed the antigay measure into law.

That prompted out View co-host Raven-Symone to ask Sanders what he would say about recent laws passed in North Carolina and Mississippi that explicitly target the LGBT community, rolling back nondiscrimination protections and requiring transgender people to use public restrooms and locker rooms that do not match their gender identity.

"As president of the United States, I would do everything I can to overturn those outrageous decisions by Mississippi, North Carolina," Sanders replied.

"We have gone too far as a nation," Sanders continued. "God knows, we have seen so much discrimination in our history, right? Against the African-American community, against Latinos, against the Irish, the Italians, the Jews. What we are trying to do is say, you have your political views, that's fine. But I hope we remember what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., told us. And that is that you judge people on their character, not on the color of their skin, and I would add too, not on their gender or their sexual orientation."