Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Titus brings back LGBT rights protection bill

Dina Titus

Dina Titus

U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, has reintroduced legislation aimed at cementing the U.S. as a global leader in LGBT rights protection.

The bill would, among other things, codify into law the position of special envoy for the human rights of LGBT persons, a position within the State Department that has been vacant since 2017. The bill was introduced in December in the previous Congress, as well.

“No person should suffer from discrimination because of who they are or whom they love,” Titus said in a news release. Under the administration of President Donald Trump, the U.s. is failing to protect the rights of LGBT people at home and abroad, she said.

The bill will help restore the U.S. role in promoting LGBT rights around the world and punishing regimes that persecute people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” she said.

Besides codifying the envoy position, the bill would require the State Department to document human rights abuses against LGBT people around the world, institute sanctions against those responsible for “egregious abuses and murders” of LGBT people and ensure fair access to asylum and refugee programs for LGBT people.

In the release, David Stacy, the government affairs director with the LGBT rights lobbying group Human Rights Campaign, said Congress must defend human rights because the Trump administration has not.

“With the introduction of this legislation, Congress sends an important message that U.S. leaders remain committed to advancing human rights around the globe,” he said.