Bernie On LGBTQ Rights. | Bernie Sanders Facts

Bernie Sanders Has Been An Advocate For LGBTQ Rights For His Entire Life.

February 1, 2020: Bernie leads by a large margin among the LGBTQ community, with 34% saying he is their top choice.

March 10, 2011: Co-sponsored and helped pass the "Student Non-Discrimination Act". (It made it illegal to exclude students from educational programs on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity)

December 22, 2010: Bernie Sanders pushed for and then voted in favor of the repeal of "Don't Ask. Don't Tell", which forces America's armed services to let homosexuals serve openly. After the vote, Sanders said "Discrimination of any kind is not what America is supposed to be about,"

July 29, 1999: Bernie Sanders voted against an amendment that would’ve banned same-sex couple adoption in Washington, D.C.

August, 1997: In 1997, he stated in his book "Outsider in the House" that, "A vision which says that we judge people not by their color. Their gender. Their sexual orientation. Their nation of birth-- But by the quality of their character. And that we will never accept sexism. Racism. Or homophobia."

July 12, 1996: Sanders is one of only 67 (out of 409) votes against the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. DOMA effectively banned same-sex marriage and set the stage for years of legal battles before same-sex marriage bans were finally struct down. Sanders voted against DOMA from the beginning, which denied federal benefits to same-sex couples legally married. Sanders urged the Supreme Court to throw out the law, which it did in a landmark 2013 ruling – 17 years later.

1995: Bernie famously defended gay members of the military on the House floor in a fiery exchange. On the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) criticized the idea of what he called "homos in the military." Sanders, a US House representative at the time, blasted him. "Was the gentleman referring to the many thousands and thousands of gay people who have put their lives on the line in countless wars defending this country?" Sanders asked. "You have insulted thousands of men and women who have put their lives on the line."

1994: Bernie has consistently opposed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability"

1984: Bernie signed an anti-discrimination housing ordinance, further establishing Burlington as a safe place for gay people

1983: As mayor of Burlington, VT, he signed a Gay Pride Proclamation Day in 1983, making June 25th Lesbian and Gay Pride Day

1972: Bernie Sanders called for the abolition of anti-gay laws as early as the 1970s. He claimed all throughout the 70's that all laws that permit discrimination based on sexuality should be abolished. In 1972, Sanders wrote a letter to a local newspaper. He wrote that he supported abolishing "all laws dealing with abortion, drugs, sexual behavior (adultery, homosexuality, etc.)" as part of his campaign for Vermont governor

Bernie has consistently opposed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability"