Biden calls critics of transgender surgeries and care 'hysterical' and ... trends now
President Joe Biden reiterated his support for transgender Americans and the broader LGBTQ+ community Thursday, calling detractors 'hysterical' and 'prejudiced.'
At his joint press conference alongside the U.K.'s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Biden was asked about Republican moves to 'restrict rights and medical care' of transgender Americans, as well as about the anti-LGBTQ protests that turned violent in California this week.
The questioner, PBS Newshour's White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López, also told the president she had interviewed the family of a transgender child in Texas and the family was considering not only moving out of the red state - but leaving the U.S. entirely.
'First of all, maybe quietly when we finish this, you can give me the number of that family and I will call them,' Biden responded. 'Let them know that the president and this administration has their back.'
Biden then pointed to his own pro-LGBTQ record of rolling back Trump's ban on transgender troops and also signing the Respect for Marriage Act - which codified the Obergefell decision after Justice Clarence Thomas suggested it could be reexamined after the Supreme Court did away with Roe v. Wade.
'It's wrong that a person can be married in the morning in the United States and fired in the afternoon by their employer because they're gay,' Biden said. 'It's wrong that the violence and hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people are rising. It's wrong that extreme officials are pushing hateful bills, targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors.'
President Joe Biden (right) reiterated his support for the transgender and broader LGBTQ community Thursday during a press conference alongside British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right)
'There are our kids,' the president said. 'These are our neighbors. It's cruel and it's callous. It matters a great deal how we treat everyone in this country.'
'Our fight is far, far from over because we have some hysterical and, I would argue, prejudiced people who are engaged in all that you see going on around the country,' the Democrat added.
He said what is happening in some states is an 'unjustified and ugly' appeal to fear and called on lawmakers to pass legislation, which has been stalled in Congress, that would protect the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals.
'Congress must pass, must pass the Equality Act and send it to my desk,' Biden said of a legislative measure he had named a top priority during his 2020 campaign.
The president then spoke directly to LGBTQ+ Americans, especially children. 'You're loved, you're heard and this administration has your back and I mean it. We are not relenting one single second to make sure that they're protected.'
Biden also described new initiatives the administration announced earlier Thursday to protect LGBTQ+ communities from attack, help young people in foster care, suffering with
