President Biden marked Pride Month Wednesday by ordering federal agencies
to craft �inclusive� school and foster-parent policies � while slamming
states he accused of trying to curb medical options for transgender
minors.

Biden struggled to say LGBTQI+ � saying �LGBTQL, I, excuse me, plus� � at
the White House event that was so crowded that he encouraged attendees to
�just sort of lean against one another� in lieu of sitting down.

�I don�t have to tell you about the ultra-MAGA agenda attacking families
and our freedoms � 300 discriminatory bills introduced in states across
this country,� Biden said. �In Texas, knocking on front doors to harass
and investigate parents who are raising transgender children. In Florida,
going after Mickey Mouse, for God�s sake.�

Biden was referring to Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott urging authorities to
investigate the parents of transgender minors for possible child abuse and
to a Florida law that restricts the teaching of sexual orientation and
gender identity concepts in kindergarden through third grade � over
Disney�s objections.

Critics of Florida�s law have dubbed it the �Don�t Say Gay� bill, but
Republicans such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis say it has been
mischaracterized.

The order charges the Department of Health and Human Services with
�working with States on expanding access to gender-affirming care�� though
it was not immediately clear if the agency would directly challenge GOP-
led state governments that are pursuing restrictions.

Biden�s order also instructed the Federal Trade Commission to examine
whether the phrase �conversion therapy� amounts to deceptive marketing and
an order to HHS to draft a �Bill of Rights for LGBTQ+ Older Adults.�

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the first Senate-confirmed openly
gay Cabinet member and the second openly gay Cabinet-level official after
the Trump administration�s acting National Intelligence Director Ric
Grenell, attended the event but was not asked to speak.

The likely effects of Biden�s new executive order are unclear, since so
many of the items are vaguely delegated to federal agencies.

For example, the Education Department is directed to �establish a Working
Group on LGBTQI+ Students and Families, which shall lead an initiative to
address discrimination against LGBTQI+ students and strengthen supports
for LGBTQI+ students and families.�

HHS, meanwhile, is told to �promote equity and inclusion for LGBTQI+
foster and adoptive parents in their interactions with the child welfare
system.�

The Supreme Court last year unanimously ruled that Philadelphia violated
the First Amendment by refusing to renew a contract with Catholic Social
Services over its refusal on religious grounds to serve gay and lesbian
foster parents.

In recent weeks, Biden has warned that a leaked Supreme Court ruling
knocking down federal abortion rights could threaten the largely court-
established right to same-sex marriage and even lead to the segregation of
gay students in schools. Justice Samuel Alito�s leaked draft opinion
specifically says, however, that �abortion is fundamentally different�
from issues like marriage and contraception.

The Supreme Court in 2003 struck down state laws against consensual same-
sex sodomy. Justices in 2013 struck down a federal ban on recognizing
state-issued same-sex marriages and in 2015 established a right to same-
sex marriage in all 50 states.

Biden himself has a mixed record on gay and transgender rights. In 1994,
then-Sen. Biden voted for an amendment that would have barred schools from
using federal funds �for the promotion of homosexuality as a positive
lifestyle alternative.�

Also in the 1990s, Biden was one of 32 Senate Democrats who voted to
federally ban same-sex marriage. He also backed the legislation that
imposed the military�s since-repealed �Don�t ask, don�t tell� policy.

As vice president, Biden in 2012 said he was �absolutely comfortable� with
same-sex marriage � a remark widely seen as inspiring then-President
Barack Obama to abandon his opposition to gays and lesbians marrying.
Biden last year repealed former President Donald Trump�s transgender
military ban.

Gallup survey data released in February found that about 0.7% of Americans
are transgender. Another 1.5% are gay, 1% are lesbian and 4% said they are
bisexual.

https://nypost.com/2022/06/15/joe-biden-to-sign-order-for-lgbtq-inclusive-
schools-foster-system/