Clinton campaign unveils a raft of LGBT policies promises
Hillary Clinton has unveiled a comprehensive list of LGBT policies that she will work towards if she is elected president.
The “Fighting for Full Equality for LGBT People” fact-sheet was published on her campaign website yesterday and lists all the pledges she has made in regards to LGBT related legislation she will look to enact if she becomes president.
The document notes that whilst the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling back in June that brought same-sex marriage to all fifty states has gone some way to address inequality, more work needs to be done for “full equality for LGBT people”.
She has pledged to work with congress to pass the Equality act, a new law that will amend the current Civil Rights act to include protections for LGBT people.
Also, she will continue Barrack Obama’s LGBT equality executive actions that currently provide protections for LGBT people who are employed by the government or any citizen who interact with their services.
In regards to LGBT youth she has vowed to tackle discriminatory treatment of LGBT families seeking adoptions and to combat homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools by improving the “school climate for all students.”
To achieve this Clinton has announced that she will work towards passing through congress the Safe Schools Improvement Act will, that will prohibit bullying and harassment based on race, gender and sexual orientation.
Also, the Democratic front-runner pledged to address LGBT homeless youth, noting that 45% of homeless youth identify as LGBT, and that she will bring an end LGBT conversion therapy for minors.
Amongst the commitments for LGBT people in the military, she has pledged to retroactively change the military records of those who were dismissed due to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and to work towards allowing transgender people to serve openly.
In LGBT related healthcare, she will attempt to extend Medicaid coverage to provide treatment and care to those who are living with HIV in every state.
Currently, states that did not participate in the Medicaid expansion are not obliged to cover people living with HIV/AIDs on lower incomes, and Clinton has promised to address this if she become president.
She has also promised to take steps to combat Martin Shkreli style price rises for essential medical care for those living with HIV/aids and will attempt to expand the utilization of HIV prevention drugs including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
For transgender people, Clinton has promised to take steps in addressing the rates of violence against the transgender community.
The fact-sheet states that there is “There is a tragic epidemic of violence against the transgender community” and if elected she will order the US Department of Justice to collect data on the gender identity of victims to better track the rates of violence.
She has also pledged to streamline the process for making changes to legal documents for citizens who are seeking to change their legal gender.
Also included are promises to change the US census question to make allowances for LGBT identities, train law enforcement on LGBT issues and facilitate better interactions with LGBT citizens and to increase support for the Global Equality Fun to better combat homophobia and transphobia world wide.
