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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris want queer people to know what's at stake this election and to get involved.
The Biden-Harris campaign launched a strategic initiative Wednesday to rally the LGBTQ+ community in support of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s reelection in 2024.
The current administration is the most pro-LGBTQ+ in history.
The new program, ”Out for Biden-Harris,” highlights the campaign’s focus on the LGBTQ+ community and acknowledges its pivotal role in previous electoral wins.
Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez discussed the crucial role of the LGBTQ+ community in electoral victory in an exclusive to The Advocate.
“LGBTQ+ voters are a force to be reckoned with. They were critical to our victory in 2020, and they will be critical to winning again this November. That’s why we’re thrilled to launch Out for Biden-Harris, which will harness the LGBTQ+ community’s organizing prowess to reelect President Biden and Vice President Harris this November,” Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.
According to the campaign, the 2020 election saw the mobilization of nearly 11,000 LGBTQ+ volunteers who were key in electing Biden and Harris. To harness this robust support base, the “Out for Biden-Harris” initiative hopes to re-engage these people and further their impactful work. To that end, “Out for Biden-Harris” will equip participants with the necessary tools to organize within their networks, tapping into a diverse array of community messengers — from drag queens and elected officials to LGBTQ+ faith leaders, the campaign said.
The initiative has the support from prominent LGBTQ+ organizations nationwide, with endorsements from groups such as Equality North Carolina PAC, Fair Wisconsin, Delaware Stonewall PAC, and the Center for Black Equity Political Action Fund, the latter making its first-ever presidential endorsement, according to the campaign. These organizations are joining forces with other influential state-level entities like Equality California and Silver State Equality. Last year, the Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Trans Equality Action Fund, and Equality PAC issued a joint endorsement of the ticket.
The Biden-Harris campaign notes that these organizations boast a collective membership of over 3.8 million. Organizers are poised to leverage their substantial resources to mobilize equality-minded voters across all key battleground states.
The vice president, who recently celebrated 20 years since first performing same-sex marriages in California, filmed a campaign video highlighting the initiative. Harris invoked Harvey Milk’s legacy in the video.
“Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard,” she said, adding, “And because you made your voices heard, marriages are more secure.”
Harris underscored a commitment to unity and coalition-building within the LGBTQ+ movement, expressing a guiding principle of collective action. “We will do what we have always done in this movement, in this community, which is collectively, we will continue to build unity. We will continue to build coalition. We will always be fueled by knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us. We will be fueled by knowing we are all in this together,” Harris said.
She attributed the achievements in marriage equality and the election of a pro-LGBTQ+ president to the community’s dedication and organizing.
The video showcases last year’s historic Pride Month celebration at the White House and Harris’s historic appearance at Capital Pride in Washington, D.C. It also features key LGBTQ+ figures within the administration, such as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine.
“LGBTQ+ rights are human rights,” Biden said in the video.
In the coming weeks, “Out for Biden-Harris” is set to engage LGBTQ+ voters through a series of initiatives, including virtual organizing calls featuring notable figures such as actor Wilson Cruz and out Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia and relational organizing training to motivate volunteers and voters to participate in the electoral process, particularly in battleground states.
Detailing the initiative’s approach, Chavez Rodriguez highlighted to The Advocate the campaign’s strategy for grassroots mobilization.
“LGBTQ+ Americans couldn’t have more at stake this election: Donald Trump and his extremist allies are running to gut LGBTQ+ rights and erase history as their top priorities. LGBTQ+ Americans deserve leaders who will fight for every American’s freedom and dignity. That’s what President Biden and Vice President Harris have done throughout their time in office, and what they will do if reelected, including pressing Congress to pass the Equality Act,” Chavez Rodriguez said.
The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking more than 484 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being pushed by Republicans nationwide.
According to the Biden-Harris campaign, the First Lady will take a prominent role as a featured speaker at the upcoming HRC Equality In Action Conference in Arlington, Va., where she will address a network of 400 organizers and activists. HRC has documented a series of actions by the Biden-Harris administration that affirm its commitment to LGBTQ+ rights. These actions range from reversing Trump-era policies banning transgender service members from the armed forces and that allowed discrimination in healthcare and signing the Respect for Marriage Act into law to participating in events that spotlight the fight for LGBTQ+ equality, such as HRC’s 2023 National Dinner in October, where the president and Jill Biden were keynote speakers.
“There has never been a more critical time to protect the rights of all Americans, no matter who you love or how you identify, and Out for Biden-Harris will be critical to not just safeguarding, but strengthening the rights and voice of every single American,” Chavez Rodriguez said.
Watch Vice President Kamala Harris launch “Out for Biden-Harris” in the campaign video below.
Out for Biden-Harris | Biden-Harris 2024youtu.be
