Why We’re Endorsing Kamala Harris for President in 2024

And why it’s not a compromise to elect ‘imperfect allies’

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Published: October 24, 2024 | Last Updated: October 25, 2024

Our community deserves hope, dignity and, especially, a break from political tactics designed to break our spirits, erase us from the pages of history and destroy the progress we’ve made. A vote for Kamala Harris, and for Democratic candidates up and down your ballot, isn’t just a vote for a brighter more inclusive future for queer Americans — it's a stand for our right to live freely and safely.

We say this unequivocally while acknowledging that, by some measures, Harris is an imperfect LGBTQ+ ally — as are the vast majority of garden-variety Democratic candidates. Too often, LGBTQ+ community members are tokenized by political candidates and used as props, only to be discarded when the polls close. In this strange election cycle, LGBTQ+ topics are both front-and-center when it comes to abhorrent political rheotoric blasting through ad after ad on radio and TV, but were almost completely left out of important conversations on the debate stage. Republicans have spent upwards of $65 million on anti-LGBTQ+ ads this year alone. Mostly, Democrat candidates are shy allies on this front. There’s a clear and obvious distinction between the parties, but there isn’t a particularly visible pushback to hateful GOP attacks. So yes, Harris hasn’t been as visibly as supportive as we’d like. However, she doesn’t have to be a perfect ally to be a powerful one.

In a highly divided political climate, the fact is that our votes are often as much about voting against something as they are about voting for something. This year, we’re in the rare spot where we get to do both. We’re voting for a brighter collective future and against dark, Trump-era despair. This country isn’t “great” for everyone, but it can be better for all of us. That’s a kind of Midwestern pragmatism we can enthusiastically get behind.

The reality is that there is no perfect candidate — and the LGBTQ+ community is not a monolith; we have many individual needs and desires. With Harris, though, we see real opportunity to build onto hard-earned equality, in all aspects of life for LGBTQ+ people. Remember, once upon a time, former President Obama did not support same-sex marriage but eventually broadened his outlook. Harris is certainly lightyears ahead of where we were 16 years ago and seems to genuinely want to get it right.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Detroit in August that Pride Source attended, Harris reaffirmed her dedication to the LGBTQ+ community as she spoke on “hard-fought” freedoms. “Our fight is a fight for the future and it is a fight for freedom,” she said. “Across our nation we are witnessing a full-on attack on hard-fought, hard-won fundamental freedoms and rights and we will not stand for it.” One of those challenged liberties, she said, was “the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.”

Harris’ approach is a solid start, one that offers a glimmer of hope that was almost impossible to find even a few months ago. There’s a strong possibility that she, too, will become the kind of staunch ally we need in the White House right now and that we’ll see her fight back more vocally against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation over her years in office, eventually becoming more vocal in her support, especially when it comes to protecting transgender Americans.

In a highly divided political climate, the fact is that our votes are often as much about voting against something as they are about voting for something. This year, we’re in the rare spot where we get to do both. We’re voting for a brighter collective future and against dark, Trump-era despair. This country isn’t “great” for everyone, but it can be better for all of us. That’s a kind of Midwestern pragmatism we can enthusiastically get behind.

Trump is peddling a vision for America that includes harrowing reforms like a national abortion ban, something he could try to implement through executive order. This is a stance on which he’s waffled back and forth, but given his hand-picked Supreme Court Justices, who repeatedly assured Congress that Roe v. Wade was “settled law” and then overturned it, there’s a fair bet he’d happily repay his supporters in this way.

And let us not forget that we have seen the original film in this would-be two-parter. Within three months of his 2017 swearing-in, former President Trump had enacted executive orders that weakened the Affordable Care Act, scrapped the Trans-Pacific Partnership, added draconian border policies that separated families, blocked foreign travelers from six countries (and ended life-saving refugee programs) and shrunk the Department of Education. And that was before he moved on to directly impact LGBTQ+ lives by Ibarring transgender Americans the military, eliminating LGBTQ+ healthcare protections and appointed multiple federal judges who have gone on the record in opposition of same-sex marriage. All told, by the end of April, 2017, Trump had signed off on 42 executive orders. By the end of his term, he’d signed 220.

This time, he’s gunning for our kids and our literal safety.

A future national ban on gender-affirming care — for both transgender kids and adults — is a key right-wing talking point in this election cycle. The blatant, vocal dehumanization of LGBTQ+ community members (including those who are not transgender and, yes, we’re looking at you, Log Cabin Republicans) is a cornerstone of Republican politicking in 2024. Believe them when they say things like,

“There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality — any of that filth,” a quote from Republican North Carolina Gov. Mark Robinson, a featured Republican National Convention speaker.

A vote for a Republican in 2024 is absolutely a vote against our community, and we can point to dozens, if not hundreds, of examples of how crystal clear this party has made its anti-queer agenda. It’s become downright dangerous in some parts of this country to authentically exist as an LGBTQ+ person.

Republican-led state legislatures nationwide have introduced thousands of anti-LGBTQ+ bills over the past few years, with nearly 100 laws already enacted that block gender-affirming care, keep kids out of sports, and restrict public school teachers from even acknowledging that our community exists. Just this year, lawmakers have proposed at least 530 anti-LGBTQ+ measures, according to data from the ACLU. Many of these will pass and will be upheld by federal judges Trump has appointed to lifetime appointments, followed by the new judges he would install during a second term. He’s already filled the U.S. Supreme Court with sycophants who will refuse to hear appeals or rule against these new laws. It’s a frightening time to simply exist as a transgender individual in the land of the free in 2024, but we can stop the bleeding and start the healing.

A vote for a Republican in 2024 is absolutely a vote against our community, and we can point to dozens, if not hundreds, of examples of how crystal clear this party has made its anti-queer agenda. It’s become downright dangerous in some parts of this country to authentically exist as an LGBTQ+ person.

So, it’s a lucky break that the Democratic Party has managed to coalesce around a candidate who exudes energy, focus, compassion and common sense, and one who would bring unprecedented diversity to the office as a Black woman of South Asian and Jamaican descent. “Brat summer” has been something to behold, and while we’d like to see more full-throated support for our community from Harris and the party in general, Harris is a candidate who seems to recognize our humanity and value.

She’s happily shared the stage with leading LGBTQ+ figures and supports many policies that improve our lives, including a program that would help first-time homebuyers make down payments, small business owners obtain the startup capital they need, and childcare initiatives that would lessen the burden on working families. Her vice president pick, Gov. Tim Walz, has been an unabashed and highly visible LGBTQ+ ally and advocate for his entire career, from the time he was a high school teacher running his school’s first GSA to just last year, when he stood alongside Minnesota’s openly transgender Rep. Leigh Finke and signed her Trans Refuge Bill.

The fact that Harris surrounds herself with smart, diverse thinkers tells us that she is in her growth mindset era, and we’re ready to help her become the loud and proud ally we know she can be. It’s all part of moving forward and away from the dark places Republican politics have led us. So, no. We aren’t going back. We invite you to join us on the new path ahead.

Visit vote411.org and michiganvoting.org to learn about the candidates and issues on your ballot and to make a voting plan.