Special to the Vanguard
Washington, DC – On Monday, the Human Rights Campaign urged its members and all Californians to vote no in the recall election by September 14. The Human Rights Campaign stands with Equality California and the long list of California elected leaders and LGBTQ+ champions who have opposed the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. California is home to more than 7.8 million Equality Voters and more than 1.6 million LGBTQ+ adults. Ballots will be mailed to all California voters on August 16th.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.
“Governor Gavin Newsom has long been a staunch champion of LGBTQ+ equality, and he’s the most pro-LGBTQ+ governor in California history,” said Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President, Policy & Political Affairs 
JoDee Winterhof.
Winterhof noted Newsom’s record of “having signed legislation to protect and advance the rights of transgender people, expand access to HIV prevention medication, and help California combat and rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic which has had a disproportionate impact on LGBTQ+ people.”
Winterhof added, “If Californians don’t vote no in the recall election by September 14, the rights, protections, and fundamental equality of 1.6 million LGBTQ+ Californians could be in danger. This recall election is a dangerous and unnecessary attempt to grab power and roll back progress in California, and it’s up to every Californian to vote no.”
Governor Newsom has been a strong ally of LGBTQ+ Californians.
As Mayor of San Francisco, Newsom issued thousands of marriage licenses to same-sex couples when marriage equality was expressly prohibited by law.
In his role as Governor, he built an inclusive administration that strengthened protections for LGBTQ+ Californians, eliminating stark disparities in laws that punished LGBTQ+ youth more harshly than their peers, extending protections for transgender, gender-nonconforming and intersex Californians in state custody, and ending long-standing practices of insurance companies discriminating against HIV-positive individuals.
More recently, he signed legislation to ensure comprehensive data focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the LGBTQ+ community be collected.
