Queer and Trans Liberation

Queer and trans people deserve to be safe and respected in every space and at every stage of life. But Trump and right-wing extremists have made it their mission to vilify queer and trans people and strip them of basic protections. This campaign of hate has fueled a new wave of harassment, discrimination, and hardship for LGBTQIA+ communities. What’s worse is that many Democrats have suggested abandoning queer and trans people for short-term political gain, a strategy that is both morally indefensible and ineffective.

Claire will never turn her back on queer and trans people. She will stand shoulder to shoulder with LGBTQIA+ communities and fight to ensure equal rights, dignity, and protection in every part of life. In Congress, Claire will fight to:

• Pass national-level protections and undo federal attacks against queer and trans people, codifying the right to live a full, dignified life;

• Enforce civil rights nationally and use Congress’s power to ensure states are not rolling back or violating the rights of queer and trans people;

• Win a Medicare for All health care system that includes full coverage for gender-affirming care, contraception, and PrEP;

• Invest in safe, inclusive housing, recognizing that LGBTQIA+ people, especially trans people and youth, face disproportionate levels of homelessness and housing insecurity.

Pass National Protections and Codify the Rights of Queer and Trans People

Since returning to office, the Trump administration has launched a litany of cruel attacks on transgender people. Claire will fight to reverse every federal action that targets the transgender community and pass The Equality Act, the Transgender Health Care Access Act and a Transgender Bill of Rights to codify permanent protections into law.. That means guaranteeing the right to comprehensive, gender affirming medical care; the right to update any and all government documents so they accurately reflect your gender; protecting the right to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and other public facilities that align with your gender; defending the right of trans students and athletes to participate fully in school life, including sports; and ensuring that no federal agency, school, employer, or healthcare provider can use gender identity or sexual orientation as a basis for exclusion or discrimination. Trans and queer people deserve safety, respect, and full participation in public life.

Enforce Civil Rights At the State Level

No matter what state you live in, you deserve safety and equality on the job and in public spaces. But in recent years, some states have aggressively rolled back queer and trans Americans’ civil rights by segregating bathrooms and businesses, denying and seizing identity documents, and ending nondiscrimination protections. As a result, record numbers of transgender people are fleeing hostile states to places where their rights remain protected.

From abolition, to school integration, to same-sex marriage, America has a centuries-old tradition of the federal government enforcing civil rights in states where they are systematically violate — Claire will work to enforce our existing federal nondiscrimination framework for queer and trans Americans when states attempt to override it. She will fight to restore self-identification gender markers on federal identity documents issued by states — enforced through the REAL ID Act — so trans Americans can obtain accurate identity documents no matter where they live.

Ensure Access to Free, Comprehensive, and Affirming Health Care

The evidence has been clear: gender affirming care is vital and life-saving for trans people of all ages. In addition to codifying queer and trans peoples’ right to care, we must also guarantee its accessibility. Claire will co-sponsor the Medicare for All Act on day one, and fight to ensure it includes gender affirming care, mail-order hormone replacement therapy (HRT), contraception, and PrEP — and in the meantime, will push to require insurance companies to cover these types of care.

She will also fight to reassert Congress’s rightful authority over the budget to end the Trump admin’s weaponization of Medicaid and Medicare funding against providers who offer gender affirming care to patients 18 and under and restore funding for HIV/AIDS programs. This includes both domestic programs and international programs funded through PEPFAR and USAID.

Invest in Safe, Inclusive Housing

Everyone deserves a safe, stable, and dignified home, but queer and trans people, — especially if they are young people or people of color — face disproportionate rates of homelessness, housing insecurity, and discrimination from landlords, shelters, and service providers. In addition to pushing for passage of the Equality Act to prevent housing discrimination, Claire will fight for a massive expansion of affordable social housing and additional funding for culturally competent services that help LGBTQIA+ people stay housed. She will also work to immediately increase federal funding for shelters, supportive housing programs, and federal housing assistance specifically for queer and trans people, and prohibit housing discrimination based on a person’s current or former involvement in sex work. Safe, secure housing is a human right, and Claire will fight until everyone has a home.