GLAAD is documenting the records of presidential candidates on a number of areas of significance to LGBTQ people. Vice President Kamala Harris’s record including her policies and efforts regarding the safety of LGBTQ people and all Americans can be found below. Public safety is among the top issues for LGBTQ voters, according to GLAAD’s poll.
Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s record on public safety & extremism can be found here. Trump’s full LGBTQ record is available on GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Tracker.
Public Safety and LGBTQ People:
With anti-LGBTQ hate on the rise, LGBTQ people are increasingly worried about the safety of themselves and their loved ones. From bomb threats against drag shows to violence against trans students, public safety remains a top priority for LGBTQ voters this election season.
GLAAD’s data supports these worries, with researchers documenting over 560 anti-LGBTQ incidents nationwide since the start of 2024. Research from other organizations has also shown that violence disproportionately targets the LGBTQ community, especially transgender / gender non-conforming and BIPOC LGBTQ people.
LGBTQ+ people are 2.7 times more likely to be a victim of gun violence compared to cisgender and heterosexual peers, according to a 2020 Science Advances study.
29% of trans youth have been threatened or injured with a weapon while at school compared to 7% of cisgender youth, according to the Sandy Hook Promise.
Black trans women made up over 60% of all trans and gender non-conforming victims of fatal violence in a ten-year period, according to a 2023 report from HRC.
Harris on Gun Violence:
Speaking to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in July 2024, Vice President Harris stated: “They have the nerve to tell teachers to strap on a gun in the classroom while they refuse to pass common sense gun safety laws… Just think about it. … We want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books.”
In March 2024, Harris visited the site of the 2018 Parkland school shooting and announced new gun violence prevention measures. These measures included launching the National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center which helps state and local entities to implement red flag laws.
As California Attorney General (AG), Harris also tackled gun violence by advocating for the state’s red flag law and clearing the state’s backlog for DNA testing for the first time.
During Harris’s tenure as district attorney (DA) in San Francisco, the city’s homicide rate declined by nearly half compared to the year she took office.
Harris on Extremism & Hate-Fueled Violence:
In July 2024, Harris condemned the July 13th assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump. She stated: “There must be unity around the idea that while our nation’s history has been scarred by political violence, violence is never acceptable. There can be no equivocation about that.”
Following the Capitol Insurrection on Jan. 6th, 2021, Harris condemned the violence and stated: “It was a day that wherein we witnessed an assault on America’s democracy, a day when we witnessed the terror that a few can wreak on so many. It will be in history recorded as one of the worst days in terms of an attack on the integrity of our democracy.” For more on former president Trump’s record regarding the Jan. 6th attack, see here.
Following the violent attack in Charlottesville in 2017, Harris condemned then-President Trump’s response that there were “very fine people on both sides.” She stated: “‘Many sides’ is what kept children in this country at separate schools and adults at separate lunch counters for decades. ‘Many sides’ is what turned a blind eye when Emmett Till was lynched and stood silent when marchers were beat in Selma for ‘disturbing the peace,’”
Harris has been a long-time opponent of the so-called “gay and trans panic defenses.” These legal strategies claim that a defendant’s violence against an LGBTQ person is somehow justified because of their surprise at the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2006, then-DA Harris hosted a symposium called “Defeating the ‘Panic Defense’” after the strategy was used in the California trial of a murdered trans teen. In 2014, then-AG Harris co-sponsored legislation to ban the panic defenses in California state courts. In 2018, then-Senator Harris co-sponsored legislation to ban these defenses on the national level.
Biden-Harris Policies Addressing Public Safety & Extremism:
In 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration established the White House Initiative on Hate-Motivated Violence. The initiative, among other efforts, provided grants for educational institutions to fight bullying and hate-based violence; advocated for increased funding for the Non-Profit Security Grant Program (NSGP); and bolstered the Department of the Treasury’s ability to combat terrorism financing.
In 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration also jointly enacted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which focuses on reducing gun violence. The BSCA mandated enhanced background checks for firearm purchasers under 21, created new barriers for domestic abusers to purchase firearms, and mitigated illegal trafficking of firearms. Biden also appointed Harris to oversee the newly created White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to enforce the BSCA.
In 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration issued the first ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism. The policy expanded the federal government’s ability to monitor and prevent domestic terrorism, such as creating the first-ever domestic terrorism unit at the Department of Justice.
Walz on Public Safety & Extremism:
Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz’s record on gun violence has changed significantly over the years. When elected to the US House of Representatives in 2007, Walz was a strong advocate for gun rights and was endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA). However, Walz says that his beliefs changed after the 2018 Parkland shooting. Two weeks after the shooting, Walz denounced the NRA, gave away their prior campaign contributions, and came out in support of an assault weapons ban. Since then, Walz has implemented a number of gun safety measures as Minnesota governor, including universal background checks and a red flag law.
In 2024, Gov. Walz enacted new gun safety laws, making it a felony to purchase a firearm for someone else not legally allowed to have one. Walz stated: “We know that gun violence is way too high. We know that our children are more likely to die of gun violence than childhood illness or other accidents. And we also had a tragedy in Minnesota, several tragedies, where the gun used in those was purchased by someone else and put in the hands of someone who was prohibited from having that.”
In 2024, Gov. Walz signed into law a bill that banned the so-called “gay and trans panic defenses.” This made Minnesota the 19th state nationwide to ban these legal strategies.
In 2023, Gov. Walz implemented a $300 million dollar public safety plan in Minnesota. The plan gave extra funding to counties to bolster training programs, community engagement, officer wellness, mental health crisis response, and victim services for police, fire, and 911 departments.
In 2021, Gov. Walz signed an executive order that bans public funds from being used for so-called conversion therapy. Walz stated that the order was designed “to ensure that no minor in Minnesota- anyone under 18, our Minnesotans, is subjected to this Byzantine torturous practice of conversion therapy.”
In 2020, Gov. Walz oversaw Minnesota’s response to the tragic murder of George Floyd and the ensuing racial justice protests. Walz has been criticized for his deployment of the Minnesota National Guard to quell protests, with some saying the deployment took too long and others saying the deployment should never have happened. However, Walz’s response to Floyd’s death also included appointing Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to prosecute Derek Chauvin, which led to a rare conviction in a police brutality case. Walz additionally signed a number of police reform bills following Floyd’s murder, including a ban on certain chokeholds and on “warrior style” police training.
GLAAD’s Voter Poll Shows:
49% of LGBTQ voters reported experiencing real-world harassment or bullying caused by the current state of political discourse in our country.
72% of LGBTQ voters experience negative impacts to their mental health and emotional well-being caused by the current state of political discourse in our country.
