Ron DeSantis, President Joe Biden.Photo: Tristan Wheelock/Bloomberg/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty
PresidentJoe Bidenis trying to appeal to the humanity of lawmakers pushing anti-LGBTQlegislation.
“What’s going on in Florida is, as my mother would say, close to sinful. It’s just terrible what they’re doing,” he says. “It’s not like a kid wakes up one morning and says, ‘I decided I want to become a man’ or ‘I want to become a woman.’
“I mean, what are they thinking about here? They’re human beings. They love, they have feelings, they have inclinations — it just to me is, it’s cruel,” adds Biden.
Aftersigning the Respect for Marriage Act into lawin November, protecting the federal right to same-sex marriage, Biden hopes Congress will take a similar approach with transgender rights.
“The way we do it is we make sure we pass legislation like we passed on same-sex marriage,” he explains to Penn. “You mess with that, you’re breaking the law, you’re going to be held accountable.”
As of last month,a record 340 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislationhave been introduced across the United States in 2023, according to the Human Rights Campaign — many of which target transgender youth specifically.
Florida Gov.Ron DeSantishas been one of the politicians leading the charge against transgender rights, pushing aban on gender-affirming carefor minors and Medicaid recipients, as well as signing a bill into law that bans trans women and girls fromplaying on sports teams that match their gender identity.
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While kicking offPride Monthlast year, he also continued to urge Congress to vote on theEquality Act, which would expand the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
RELATED VIDEO: President Biden Signs Historic Same-Sex Marriage Bill: ‘Today Is a Good Day’
“I will always have your back as your Presidentso that you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential,” he wrote in a proclamation last May. “Today and every day, my Administration stands with every LGBTQI+ American in the ongoing struggle against intolerance, discrimination, and injustice.”
Biden continued: “We condemn the dangerous State laws and bills that target LGBTQI+ youth. And we remain steadfast in our commitment to helping LGBTQI+ people in America and around the world live free from violence.”
See President Biden’s full interview with Kal Penn onThe Daily ShowMonday at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.
source: people.com
