President Biden signed an executive order last week intended to protect LGBTQ+ individuals, including transgender youth and others, from the growing threat of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation cropping up in state legislatures across the country  

The New York Times reported “White House officials have called the new laws ‘un-American’ and said they are designed to discriminate against families and children based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) commended President Joseph Biden for signing an executive order last week intended to counter growing efforts by Republican lawmakers across the country who have been busy drafting and passing so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bills that are discriminatory and harmful to LGBTQ+ students, parents and their families.

Biden signed the executive order in a signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House last Wednesday attended by LGBTQ+ advocates.

According to the New York Times, Biden signed the order during Pride Month, “But White House officials said the decision to issue the executive order was also motivated by the increasing number of anti-L.G.B.T.Q. laws being passed by Republican state legislatures and signed into law by Republican governors.”

“We salute President Biden for recognizing the importance of swiftly and effectively countering the groundswell of hateful, homophobic and transphobic legislation cropping up in state legislatures across our country and for his for signature on this important executive order,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AHF. “We must all ‘Stand Against Hate’ in all its forms.”

The Times also noted “White House officials have called the new laws ‘un-American’ and said they are designed to discriminate against families and children based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

In a separate, but related action last week, AHF started running a new television advocacy campaign in Ohio to counter recent and ongoing ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislative efforts in that state. As Ohio’s HB 616 works its way through the Ohio legislature, AHF and LGBTQ+ advocates started running a television spot in the Columbus market imploring Ohioans to reject the bill, modeled after Florida’s notorious ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation.

‘Disappearing,’ a bittersweet, ethereal TV spot shows ordinary students’ faces slowly fading away from photos in a yearbook, a school hallway awards’ case and from a graduation photo to suggest their identities being erased by hateful government and school policies due to Don’t Say Gay laws and policies.

AHF’s 30-second spot has been running on CNN, MSNBC, Spectrum News and FOX News in the Columbus market.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.6 million clients in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare

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