5 LGBTQ+ issues we need Kamala Harris to address in her campaign

President Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and Vice President Kamala Harris stepping into his place have ignited Democrats and the Left with hope that Donald Trump will be defeated this November.

Trump has been one of the most anti-LGBTQ+ presidents ever, which means that many Americans are worried about his chances of winning the election and having a second term in the White House.

Harris, meanwhile, has a long history of supporting LGBTQ+ rights, including same-sex marriage, access to PrEP, and the banning of gay and trans "panic" defenses. And her newly selected running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has his own track record of progressive policies, including making his state a sanctuary for transgender people.

While we're excited about Harris' campaign and can't wait for her to beat Trump to a pulp this fall, we also need to make sure that we're holding her accountable and pushing her to continue the necessary work to protect the LGBTQ+ community. Given that Harris has yet to outline her official platform on her website, we have some suggestions for LGBTQ+ issues that we want her to take a firm stance on.

1. Protect schools for educators and students.

Trump's official campaign website has a section titled Agenda 47, which lays out 20 of his plans for a second Presidential term. It includes things like "seal the border and stop the migrant invasion," "carry out the largest deportation operation in American history," "stop the migrant crime epidemic," and more.

Agenda 47 also includes several anti-LGBTQ+ policies, including a promise to "keep men out of women's sports," and "cut federal funding for any school pushing Critical Race Theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content onto our children."

Teachers, administrators, and other educators must be protected on a federal level from losing their jobs or being otherwise punished for teaching LGBTQ+ issues in school. To accomplish that goal, Harris must make every public school in the nation a safe and inclusive space where students can learn about queer people who exist, have existed, and even the ones who have made positive contributions to the world.

2. Expand access to gender-affirming care.

Trump's Agenda 47 has an entire page titled "President Trump's Plan to Protect Children from Left-Wing Gender Insanity" that includes a video and outline of some of his plans. At the top of the page, Trump said he plans to "stop the chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation of our youth because no serious country should be telling its children that they were born with the wrong gender."

As outlined in his platform, Trump plans to revoke Biden's "cruel policies on so-called 'gender-affirming care,'" "cease all federal programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age," ask Congress to "permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures," and "pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states."

If Harris is elected, we call on her to ensure that everyone has easy access to the life-saving and life-improving medical care that they need. This isn't limited to just gender-related care, but all healthcare.

3. Stand by Title IX protections and enforce them nationwide.

Trump has disclosed his plans to ask Congress to pass a bill recognizing only two genders, male and female, and establishing that they are assigned at birth and cannot be changed. Furthermore, he wants the bill to change Title IX — which says that no one shall be excluded from participation in educational programs or activities based on their sex — to say that men are prohibited from participating in women's sports.

This year, President Biden and the Department of Education updated Title IX to provide certain protections for LGBTQ+ students, such as the disclaimer that any discrimination on the basis of gender identity is a violation of the law. While the new rule went into effect this month, it has already been blocked by lawsuits in 26 states.

We call on Harris to pledge to stand by the Biden administration's expansion of Title IX and fight to put it into practice across the nation, protecting every American student's right to participate in activities and sports.

4. Pass the Equality Act.

The Equality Act would "provide consistent and explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service," as outlined by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

Trump plans to "defend religious liberty" by allowing businesses, landowners, and others to discriminate against people in the LGBTQ+ community based on religious beliefs. He also wants to start a Federal Task Force on Fighting Anti-Christian Bias.

In response, we need Harris to step up and make sure that the Equality Act is finally passed.

5. Repeal FOSTA-SESTA.

Trump's first administration passed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA), which were touted as measures to stop sex trafficking. However, what they've actually done is hurt sex workers by removing online safety nets and networks that they used to screen customers, approve clients, and work from the safety of their own homes.

Advocate groups such as Decriminalize Sex Work state that FOSTA and SESTA force sex workers back into the streets, where their work is more dangerous and less regulated. AIDS United also argues that FOSTA-SESTA has "decreased sex workers' financial security and stability by limiting their ability to advertise – all while increasing sex workers' exposure to violence."

Harris has repeatedly supported these laws and, according to some political pundits, was described as "integral to their passage."

If Harris wants to show true support to the LGBTQ+ community, including those who have relied on sex work, she needs to work to repeal these two laws used for punishing (instead of protecting) sex workers.