Former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg
Dallas Voice has offered each of the Democratic presidential nominees the opportunity to reply to a set of specific questions related to LGBTQ issues. We have asked the same questions of each candidate and given them each the opportunity to answer each as in-depth as they want, and we will be posting each candidate’s answers as written, verbatim, as soon as each returns his or her questionnaire. To find all the questionnaire answers submitted at any time, search DallasVoice.com for “ELECTION 2020.”
Here are the answers from former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg:
1. Does your campaign have a written statement describing your position on LGBTQ civil rights/equality in general? If so, what is it?
Yes. As President, I will ensure equal treatment of LGBTQ+ Americans, and I have a comprehensive plan to do so. I have outlined many elements of that plan in my answers below. Among those elements, I am committed to working with Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity among other characteristics, and ensure equal benefits and protections for LGBTQ+ people. For more on how I will fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, please see my comprehensive plan available at MikeBloomberg.com.
2. Will you reinstate LGBTQ protections removed from federal policies by the Trump administration? If so, how soon?
Yes. Over the past three years, the Trump administration has chipped away at the federal protections and resources available for LGBTQ+ Americans, including stripping transgender people of their recognized identities and civil rights, and nominating judges and officials with strong anti-LGBTQ+ records. The Trump administration has also put into place policies that allow for discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans on the basis of religious belief. As one of my first acts as president, I will instruct my cabinet to reinstate LGBTQ+ protections removed from federal policies by the Trump administration.
3. What is your position on transgender people in the U.S. military? What will you do to ensure transgender people already in the military are protected from discrimination, and what will you do to make sure transgender people who want to enlist are treated fairly?
I will reverse the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military and rescind the exclusion of coverage of gender-affirming care in the Veterans Health Administration. I will also review and restore honorable discharges and military benefits to veterans who were discharged solely for being LGBTQ+ prior to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. More broadly, I will fight for and strengthen anti-discrimination enforcement and make education and training a national priority. For example, I will promote and fund cultural competency training for medical and mental health-care professionals to address bias, including against LGBTQ+ people, that leads to health disparities.
4. What will you do to protect LGBTQ youth from bullying and discrimination? How will you act to protect especially vulnerable transgender youth, particularly in a school setting?
As president, I will launch a federal “Respect for All” program to promote safe and inclusive schools for all students, including LGBTQ+ students, and will fund and promote training for teachers, principals and other key staff to combat bullying, harassment and discrimination.
I will also address youth homelessness. LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely than their peers to be homeless. I will increase funding for emergency shelters and services for homeless and runaway youth and support programs that are designed to promote family acceptance. I will also expand permanent supportive housing, provide housing search support and rental assistance and increase federal grants for homelessness prevention programs that provide legal aid and temporary financial assistance.
Finally, I will ban federal funding for conversion therapy and support state and federal legislation to end the practice and protect youth from conversion therapy.
5. What is your position of religious freedom laws? How do you propose to protect LGBTQ civil rights and religious freedom?
The freedom to practice one’s religion is one of America’s most sacred principles, but it should not be used to justify discrimination. I support the Do No Harm Act, which would amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to clarify that it does not allow religious exemptions from generally applicable anti-discrimination laws. I will also end the Trump administration’s practice of granting federally funded organizations a license to discriminate against people based on their religious beliefs, sexual orientation or gender identity.
6. What would you do to ensure that gains in LGBTQ equality under your administration couldn’t be reversed by a less-friendly administration that might follow?
The best we can do to ensure that gains in LGBTQ+ equality cannot be reversed by a less-friendly administration is to work to codify the gains in LGBTQ+ equality into law. That is why I am committed to using my position at the top of the ticket as well as my personal wealth to get more Democrats elected to Congress so that Congress can pass the Equality Act and the Do No Harm Act.
7. Do you support passage of the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ people from employment discrimination? If so, what would you do to help get the legislation through Congress so that you could sign it into law?
I am committed to working with Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity among other characteristics, and ensure equal benefits and protections for LGBTQ+ people. The best way to get this legislation through Congress is to nominate a Democratic presidential candidate who can help Democrats hold the majority in the House and gain the majority in the Senate. I am the candidate that will motivate moderate Democrats and independent voters to get out to vote so that we can get that done.
8. Do you have a plan in place to address the epidemic of anti-LGBTQ violent crimes happening in this country? What would you do to help stop violence targeting transgender people, especially transgender women of color?
As president, I will establish a comprehensive approach to addressing violence against LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender women of color. I will make hate and bias crimes a top federal priority, directing the FBI to take the lead on bias crime investigations, training local authorities to identify hate and pressing states to report all hate crimes to the federal government, and improving data collection on violent deaths of LGBTQ+ people.
I will also:
- End the LGBTQ+ panic legal defense whereby defendants charged with assault or murder claim they acted in a state of violent temporary insanity because of unwanted same-sex sexual advances;
- Fund violence prevention programs such as Cure Violence that mobilize community members and credible messengers to de-escalate tensions and break the cycle of violence.
- Support domestic violence victims by signing a bill reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act immediately, with necessary improvements to increase funding for sexual assault prevention and housing protection for victims.
- Mandate more oversight, accountability and training for law enforcement by, for example, requiring regular training for federal law enforcement in de-escalation and implicit bias to address high levels of police profiling and misconduct, including against LGBTQ+ people, and pressure states to follow suit with their own statutes and fund training nationwide.
- Ensure the safety of LGBTQ+ people, including transgender women of color, in the justice system, including by providing safe housing, treatment and care of transgender people in prison, reversing the Trump administration policy that prevents transgender people in prison from being housed in the facilities that reflect their gender identity, and ensuring that programs, services and basic necessities provided are consistent with gender identity.
9. How do you propose to ensure that LGBTQ people, especially trans people, have access to adequate and informed health care?
I believe that all Americans should have access to quality, affordable health care and will enforce protections for LGBTQ+ people and ensure access to gender-affirming care. I will expand health coverage and increase protections for LGBTQ+ people, ensuring coverage of medically-necessary gender-affirming care and promoting training for health professionals. I will also promote and fund cultural competency training for medical and mental health-care professionals to address bias, including against LGBTQ+ people, that leads to health disparities and may lead LGBTQ+ people to forgo medically-necessary care altogether. Finally, I will ensure mental health coverage and address substance use disorder, which is particularly relevant to the LGBTQ+ community given that LGBTQ+ individuals are more than twice as likely as non-LGBTQ+ people to have a mental health disorder, more than twice as likely to have used illicit drugs, and more likely to have a substance use disorder.
10. What else would you like to tell the LGBTQ community?
I have been a longtime supporter of, and vocal advocate for, LGBTQ+ rights. As mayor, I launched the Commission for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Runaway and Homeless Youth, which recommended and implemented strategies to help one of the city’s most vulnerable populations. I also supported the Harvey Milk School, the first public high school for LGBTQ+ students, and was responsible for its expansion and renovation. Under my leadership, New York City’s public hospital system became the first public health-care system in the country to mandate comprehensive training to address LGBTQ+ health disparities. As President, I look forward to working with the LGBTQ+ community to reverse the harmful policies of the Trump administration and move forward towards LGBTQ+ equality. For more on how I will fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, please see my comprehensive plan available at MikeBloomberg.com.
