Biden: ‘We Need to Challenge the Hundreds of Callous, Cynical Laws Introduced in the States Targeting Transgender Children’
President signs landmark Respect for Marriage Act into law
Amid the celebration of his signing the landmark Respect for Marriage Act Tuesday, President Biden highlighted work left to do towards equality.
Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act at a lavish White House ceremony, including celebrities like pop singer Cyndi Lauper, legislation which will ensure recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages.
The law became necessary after the US Supreme Court earlier this year overturned Roe v Wade and upended half a century of national abortion rights, leaving the high court's 2015 decision establishing a right to same-sex marriage similarly vulnerable to reversal.
Despite the protection and advancement which the Respect for Marriage Act represents, there's still much more to be done, Biden observed, especially laws passed in Republican-dominated states aimed at discriminating against transgender youth, and criminalizing their ability to access gender-affirming care.
“We need to challenge the hundreds of callous, cynical laws introduced in the states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors who get children the care they need. We have to protect these children so they know they are loved, and we will stand up for them until they can speak for themselves,” Biden said to applause. “Folks, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, they’re all connected.
“But the antidote to hate is love. This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms. And that’s why this law matters to every single American, no matter who you are or who you love,” Biden added.
Biden implored Americans to fight against the hate.
“When hospitals, libraries, and community centers are threatened and intimidated because they support LGBTQ children and families, we had to speak out. We must stop the hate and violence like we just saw in Colorado Springs, where a place of acceptance and celebration was targeted for violence and terror,” Biden said, referring to a recent deadly shooting at an LGBTQ night spot in Colorado.
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