Equality

LGBTQ+ Equality

Ron is a lifelong ally of the LGBTQ+ community and has fought for years to expand protections against discrimination on the job, in public accommodations, and housing. In 1996, Ron was one of the first U.S. Senators to declare his support for marriage equality. He was one of just 14 senators to vote against The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Now that the freedom to marry is protected nationwide, Ron used his position as Chairman of the Finance Committee to ensure that the tax code treated the community equally and Ron is fighting to pass the Equality Act, because every person deserves equal protection under the law, no matter who they love or how they identify.

To shed light on discrimination in higher education, Ron fought to make public the names of institutions that receive religious exemptions from Title IX that can be used to discriminate against women and transgender students and employees.

Reproductive Freedom

Ron has always defended women’s health care and reproductive rights. He has fought back against the relentless attacks on Planned Parenthood. Politicians have no place between a woman and her doctor, and Ron will always stand up to the extremists trying to take away access to health care and reproductive services.

Ron fights for women and families' economic futures by supporting equal pay for equal work, access to affordable health care, and policies that help make strong families and support women in the workplace like paid sick and maternity leave.

In the wake of the gut-wrenching repeal of Roe v. Wade, Ron has led the charge to protect Americans’ reproductive data by pressuring private companies to safeguard womens’ private data so it can’t be weaponized against them if they seek out reproductive care. He also co-authored the strongest reproductive privacy legislation ever to put these protections into black-letter law.