Executive orders on anti-LGBTQ laws, conversion therapy signed

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at supporting members of the LGBTQ community whose rights he said are increasingly under attack.

“My message to all the young people: Just be you,” Biden said at a rainbowcolored White House event, part of a celebration of Pride Month. “I want you to know that, as your president, all of us on this stage have your back.”

Biden was introduced by Javier Gomez, an 18-year-old from Florida who helped organize statewide student walkouts over the Parental Rights in Education law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March. Dubbed “Don’t say Gay” by critics, the legislation bans teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity between kindergarten through third grade.

Gomez said the “hateful legislation” means students won’t be able to get the kind of support he received from his fifth-grade teacher when he was trying to understand his identity.

At least 20 states have passed measures involving gender-affirming health care, sports participation or discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an independent think tank in Boulder, Colorado.

Jenny Pizer, acting chief legal officer for Lambda Legal, said Biden’s actions clarify what actions are not allowed and demonstrates that the administration is paying attention to laws like Florida’s and to a state order in Texas to investigate families of transgender children who have received gender-confirming medical care.

“Having additional clarity from the federal government, and the attention from the federal government, can reinforce to the state actors,” Pizer said, “that this discriminatory targeting of transgender young people and their families is unlawful.”

The order also encourages the Federal Trade Commission to consider whether “so-called conversion therapy” constitutes an unfair or deceptive practice and whether to issue consumer warnings on services about it.

Biden is also calling on the Department of Education to release a sample school policy for achieving full inclusion for LGBTQ students.

Biden also will expand access to suicide prevention resources. He is also launching a new initiative through the executive order to address discrimination and barriers that LGBTQ children and parents face in foster care.

The executive order will also strengthen federal data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity among LGBTQ homelessness and housing insecurity, as well as access to health care.