Biden signs order to fight state bills that discriminate against LGBTQ+ community

The order seeks to discourage "conversion therapy" while also promoting gender-affirming surgery and expanding foster care protections for gay and transgender parents and children.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order Wednesday to stymie what what his administration calls discriminatory legislative attacks on the LGBTQ community by Republican-controlled states, declaring before a signing ceremony packed with activists, “pride is back at the White House.”

The order seeks to discourage “conversion therapy” — a discredited practice that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity — while also promoting gender-affirming surgery and expanding foster care protections for gay and transgender parents and children.

Tapping money already allocated to federal agencies rather than requiring new funding, Biden said the order is meant to counter 300-plus anti-LGBTQ laws introduced by state lawmakers over the past year alone. The Department of Health and Human Services will draft new policies to expand care to LGBTQ families and the Education Department will devise rules to better protect LGBTQ students in public schools.

The president, first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attended a crowded reception in the White House’s East Room, where the adjacent hallway was decorated in rainbow colors. Attending were LGBTQ activists, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress, and top administration officials, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who adopted twins with his husband, Chasten.

The gathering is part of the Biden administration’s recognition of Pride Month.

“All of you in this room know better than anyone that these attacks are real and consequential for real families,” the president said before sitting to sign the order. He pointed specifically to the arrest last weekend of 31 members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front near an Idaho pride event.

Actions listed within the order attempt to bolster programs better addressing the issue of suicide among LGBTQ children and seek to make adoptions easier for LGBTQ parents and children.

“It shouldn’t take courage to be yourself,” said Jill Biden, who noted that it was a little too hot and humid in summer sun-drenched Washington to hold the event on the South Lawn. “We know that, in places across the country like Florida or Texas or Alabama, rights are under attack. And we know that in small towns and big cities, prejudice, and discrimination still lurk.”