Two Democratic candidates debuted LGBTQ-focused plans and nine candidates took part in an LGBTQ-themed town hall meeting in Los Angeles on Oct. 10.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) both unveiled plans Thursday that include banning conversion therapy or the practice of trying to rewire people out of their sexual orientation, reversing Trump-era measures they believe allow for discrimination, and vowing to fight suicides among LGBTQ youth.
Buttigieg, the only openly gay candidate of the top Democrats seeking to become president, rolled out a plan that includes promises to:
- Sign the Equality Act, a measure that outlaws discrimination for jobs and housing, restaurant and hotel service on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in 29 states
- Update the U.S. passport system to include a third gender of “non-binary” or “X”
- Outlaw genital surgeries on intersex babies born with male and female sexual organs, maintaining that these procedures can by physically and psychologically hurtful
- Get rid of barriers to medically necessary transition-related care for transgender Americans
- Pass legislation to bolster suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth
- Outlaw conversion therapy, a practice in which LGBTQ young people are brainwashed into believing they are heterosexual