Vice President Joe Biden’s pick of US Senator Kamala Harris (CA) to join his ticket to become the 46th President of the United States is historic news. Sen. Harris has been a friend and champion to the LGBTQ community. In her time as a US Senator, she worked with our policy team to draft and introduce the Census Equality Act which if passed would have included questions that would have collected much-needed data on LGBTQ people and families in this year’s US Census and in the American Community Survey. When she was Attorney General for the largest state in the nation, she declined to stand by Proposition 8, which helped lead to marriage equality for all of us. Sen. Harris also urged investigations into the death of transgender immigrant Roxsana Hernández, who died after being held in ICE detention.
“With Joe Biden’s announcement that Senator Kamala Harris will be his running mate, history has been made. As the third woman and the first woman of color to be a Vice Presidential candidate, millions of people across the country will finally see themselves reflected in this historic choice. If elected, it will be the first time a woman and a woman of color would have held federal executive office in the United States of America which will forever shift what our nation’s leaders will look like in history.
With the attacks on democracy, voting rights, immigration, abortion and other civil rights, access to voting, criminal and economic justice and the U.S. Postal Service have shown that this administration will stop at nothing to weaken democracy and call into question the election outcome. This is not a partisan issue, this is not a Republican versus Democrat issue, this is an American issue. The most important thing for each and every one of us to do is to vote. Vote your heart and your head for those candidates who you feel will best serve you, the LGBTQ community, and the country.”
Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund.
“As a Black, queer woman and leader in the LGBTQ movement, I know far too well how women of color are often asked to fix all that’s wrong with our systems in a short period time as if it didn’t take centuries for the system to become as corrupt as it is. We join with others who have recently challenged the media and others to be attuned to the racism and sexism targeting candidates, including Senator Harris. I have no doubt that Sen. Harris would be a Vice President who would go to sleep every night working to ensure the civil rights of all of us are protected all of the time”
Kierra Johnson, Deputy Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
Contact:
Cathy Renna, Interim Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
crenna@thetaskforce.org, 917-757-6123
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Be prepared to vote by checking your voting status and learn more about our Queer the Vote campaign here: www.queerthevote.org
The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization affiliated with the National LBGTQ Task Force. The Task Force Action Fund is the oldest grassroots LGBTQ network in America advancing the LGBTQ liberation on both local and national landscapes to promote more vibrant and livable communities for LGBTQ people throughout the country. The Task Force Action Fund’s goal is to enlist and mobilize citizen activists that will help ensure that LGBTQ inclusive public policies are adopted at the federal, state, and local levels. The Task Force Action Fund does not endorse candidates for elected office.