Communities across the United States have reacted in different ways to Joe Biden’s presidential victory, one of these communities being the LGBTQ Community at Arizona State University.
ASU is home to many LGBTQ inclusive clubs and programs, such as the Rainbow Coalition, OUT @ ASU, Devils In the Bedroom and the Barrett LGBTQ Club.
Abby Kitnick, the director of ASU’s Devils In the Bedroom, a comprehensive sexual education program that is intended to be inclusive for students of all sexualities and gender identities, shared her thoughts on Joe Biden’s victory as a member of the LGBTQ community herself.
She said she felt like she can finally “breathe a sigh of relief knowing that we will no longer have a president who seeks to purposefully harm LGBTQ individuals.”
President Trump has been accused of policies hostile to LGBTQ communities.
In 2017, President Trump announced his decision to adjust military enlistment qualifications, essentially banning transgender people from joining the military.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the policies constitutional, and it went into effect in April 2019.
“Joe Biden defeating Trump in the election means that our country will no longer have a leader who bleeds homophobia and transphobia,” Kitnick said.
Other members of the LGBTQ community at ASU shared similar sentiments about Biden’s victory.
Melody Colucci, 18, said, “I feel a lot safer being a member of the LGBTQ community in America knowing that we no longer have a president who would like to strip us of our rights in the name of ‘religious freedom,’ or a vice president who supports conversion therapy.”
Luke Riviera, a 19-year-old undergraduate at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, said, “Biden’s victory secured my comfortability as a gay man in today’s society.”
Riviera explained that many people he knew who held contempt for the LGBTQ community also supported President Trump, but that very few Biden supporters that he knew carried prejudices against the LGBTQ community.
When asked about what changes they would like to see President-elect Joe Biden make during his term, the responses were overwhelmingly concise: the LGBTQ community at ASU simply wants Joe Biden to keep his promises to protect their rights.
Throughout his campaign, Biden promised various LGBTQ inclusive legislative reforms, one of which being the Equality Act, which is an act aimed to protect members of the LGBTQ community from discrimination and unfair treatment.
Biden stated in an email interview with Mark Segal, publisher for Philadelphia Gay News, that he intends to pass the Equality Act within the first 100 days of his presidential term.
In addition to keeping his campaign promises, many members of ASU’s LGBTQ community also seem to suggest that although they are glad that President Trump will not be serving another term, they do wish to see more LGBTQ representation in the White House in the future.
When asked whether she had any final comments about Biden’s presidential victory, Kitnick smiled and said, “for the first time in four years, I feel hopeful.”
Contact the reporter at clparri2@asu.edu.
Cami is Downtown Devil's co-executive editor. Cami is a third-year student studying print journalism and political science. When she's not writing or editing, she enjoys hosting radio shows, playing piano and bass, and teaching art classes at a local art studio.
