81% of Equality Voters and 84% of LGBTQ+ Voters Backed Harris for President

Just 4% of voters named policies attacking trans people as an important issue in deciding who to support for president

WASHINGTON, D.C. – New polling released today by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization — shows that Equality Voters overwhelmingly backed pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot while anti-trans ads once again failed to motivate voters’ decisions at the ballot box.

“Equality Voters and LGBTQ+ voters showed up this election to vote for a brighter future, and that fight will continue, “ said Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign. “While the results of this election are deeply disappointing, this polling shows that strong majorities of Americans want elected officials to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination and to stay out of the health care of trans people. It also confirms that once again, anti-trans attacks were not a motivating issue for voters–all they do is sow hate and division toward a community that just wants to be their authentic selves.”

Top findings from the poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, include:

Equality and LGTBQ+ Voters delivered huge margins to Democrats at every level of the ballot.

The poll finds that 81% of Equality Voters backed Kamala Harris, a number that mirrors the Democratic support in 2022 and the Biden support in 2020. Similarly, LGBTQ+ voters, who made up 8% of the electorate according to exit polls, backed Harris over Trump by a 84-14 margin, a number comparable to her support in the Black community. 

Similarly high margins were found in battleground states that kept Democratic Senate candidate competitive:

• Arizona: Equality Voters backed Democrats by a 92 to 7 margin
• Michigan: Equality Voters backed Democrats by a 78 to 19 margin
• Pennsylvania: Equality Voters backed Democrats by a 80 to 17 percent margin
• Wisconsin: Equality Voters backed Democrats by a 75-24 margin

Equality Voters, who made up 34% of the electorate, are a geographically diverse, multiracial, and multigenerational voting bloc who are united by the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality. These voters are younger, more racially diverse, and more female than the general electorate.

Like in previous elections, MAGA’s attacks on transgender people failed to move voters.

This election cycle, MAGA politicians spent more than $150 million on heinous, hateful ads attacking the trans community, despite a long history of failure and extensive research showing these ads fail to move voters. This new poll confirms the ineffectiveness of these attacks.

Nationally, 64% of voters recall seeing an anti-trans attack ad against Kamala Harris. But just 4%—dead last on this list— identify opposing surgeries for trans people and trans kids’ participation in sports as issues motivating them to vote. (This aligns with research Gallup found in September). In fact, when asked directly which candidate ”represents your views on transgender people,” voters pick Harris (52 to 40 percent).

Backing up this new data are results we saw across the country where pro-equality candidates and referendums won despite an onslaught of anti-trans attacks, including Sarah McBride, who will become our nation’s first ever openly transgender member of Congress, U.S Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who won a third term from Wisconsinites, and pro-reproductive freedom ballot referendums like Proposition 1 in New York.

While the attacks were once again ineffective from a political perspective, they caused tremendous harm to the transgender community already at high risk of mental health struggles and violent attacks.

Voters Believe LGBTQ+ People Should be Protected from Discrimination and that Politicians Shouldn’t Interfere with Health Care for Trans People

A 60% majority support a federal law that would make it illegal to deny services to LGBTQ+ people and would ban discrimination in employment and housing; this majority includes 57% of the non-college voters that played such an outsized role in Trump’s election. An even stronger 73% majority (60% among Republicans) argue the government should not interfere with the health care transgender people receive.

Remarks Will Center LGBTQ+ Stories From Arizona, California, and Texas

WASHINGTON, DC – On a night dubbed Fighting For Our Freedoms, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson will address millions of Americans from the Democratic National Convention stage. At 5:45p CT, Robinson will share her own family’s journey from enslavement to freedom, a stirring reminder of the progress made in the fight for justice and equality, amplify LGBTQ+ stories from around the country, and underscore the stark contrast between the threat posed by Donald Trump to our fundamental freedoms and the hope and inspiration of the Harris-Walz ticket.

“This convention is putting on display the future we deserve: one where we all have the freedom to love who we love, be who we are, and get the chance to shine,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “The 20+ million LGBTQ+ people in this country are living proof of the progress we’ve already made – and there’s no way we are letting Donald Trump, JD Vance, and their Project 2025 agenda drag us back in time. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have shown up for us their entire careers. It’s an honor to show up for them. And know this: when we show up, we win.”

Robinson’s remarks will feature three LGBTQ+ stories, putting a spotlight on the growing power of the community, rich beauty of the community’s stories, and the dedication of Vice President Harris to defending and advancing our freedom to love and to be. Those stories include:

• Daniel Trujillo, a transgender young person whose advocacy in Tucson has helped to defeat anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and propel pro-equality candidates to victory. Daniel and his family have been tireless champions for equality in Arizona, lobbying the state legislature frequently and appearing in local and national media. They participated in the Out For Kamala Harris Zoom call that garnered 25,000+ attendees and raised over $300,000 for Vice President Harris’ White House bid in the days following her announcement. Daniel is attending his first prom next year.
• Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, the history-making couple who successfully challenged Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage. One hour after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted its stay on an injunction that ordered state officials to stop enforcing the ban, then Attorney General Kamala Harris officiated the couple’s marriage – the first in the state since 2008. Perry and Stier’s story powerfully underscores how dedicated Vice President Harris has been to the fight for equality throughout her career.
• Retired Marine Staff Sergeant Eric Alva, the first American soldier injured in the Iraq war and who played an instrumental role in the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” A gay man, disabled veteran, and U.S. citizen of Hispanic and Native American heritage, Eric lives in San Antonio and is an author, public speaker and advocate who proudly champions what a Vice President and Governor Harris Walz administration would mean to LGBTQ+ service members.

Other LGBTQ+ speakers tonight include Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who will highlight the threat of Project 2025 to our freedoms and US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who will make clear the contrast between the Trump-Vance ticket and the Harris-Walz roadmap to freedom and equality for all.

The LGBTQ+ presence at the 2024 Democratic National Convention is historic. Over 800 of the party’s delegates identify as LGBTQ+, the largest contingent in history, which includes more than four dozen transgender and nonbinary delegates. The surge in LGBTQ+ representation among delegates comes as LGBTQ+ and allied voting power is surging as well. The nation’s number of Equality Voters, those who prioritize issues of equality when deciding who to vote for, has grown to a record 75 million, with millions located in key battleground states that were decided by narrow margins in 2020.

Robinson’s remarks will stream live on the Democratic National Convention’s website.

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.

America Faced With Two Starkly Different Visions for the Future

WASHINGTON — Today, Donald Trump selected US Senator JD Vance as his running mate, making clear that a second Trump Administration would build on its legacy of being the most anti-LGBTQ+ in American history.

“Donald Trump has been a bully for years – and his pick of MAGA clone JD Vance is a reminder that nothing has changed. This is anything but a unity ticket,” said Kelley Robinson, Human Rights Campaign President. “We are not simply choosing between two campaigns. We are choosing between two fundamentally different visions of America. One, with Trump and MAGA ‘yes man’ JD Vance at the helm, where our rights and freedoms are under siege. And the other, with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris leading the way, where we are advancing toward freedom and equality for all. Everything is at stake and the contrast could not be clearer. We must defeat Trump, Vance, and their brand of chaos and division, and send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris back to the White House.”

MAGA author and US Senator JD Vance has a history of spewing anti-LGBTQ+ vitriol and opposes reproductive freedoms nationwide. He defended the dangerous “groomer” smear campaign against Democratic politicians for their support of LGBTQ+ people, said he “strongly disagreed” that LGBTQ+ people should be protected from discrimination, railed against the Equality Act, calling its landmark nondiscrimination provisions “an assault,” and argued that victims of rape and incest should be be barred from accessing abortion care. As a United States Senator, Vance has routinely taken aim at basic rights and freedoms, voting against a bill to codify access to IVF, introducing legislation to charge doctors with a felony for providing medically necessary health care to transgender youth, and promising to support a national abortion ban.

Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris Administration has been the most pro-equality in history. Since being inaugurated in 2021, the administration has taken extraordinary steps to advance equality. In 2022, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, a landmark piece of legislation that codified federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. They have issued new administrative rules protecting LGBTQ+ youth from discrimination and harassment in schools, ensuring LGBTQ+ youth are protected in the foster care system, and protecting LGBTQ+ patients from discrimination in health care. They have also filled the administration with members of the LGBTQ+ community, appointing a record 200+ LGBTQ+ people across each level of government and nominating a number of LGBTQ+ judges.

In May, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) launched its We Show Up: Equality Wins public education campaign to mobilize 75 million Equality Voters nationally in support of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ reelection bid. The campaign includes a $15 million strategic investment in key battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Nevada. HRC has had year-round, on-the-ground staff in these states since 2017, and will bring on dozens of additional staffers in these states to organize for November. HRC will also have a strong ground game in California, Texas, New York, and Delaware to support historic LGBTQ+ congressional candidates whose elections are poised to help make the difference in putting a pro-equality majority back in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org).

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

“On the Shoulders of Our Ancestors, Forging Our Legacy for the Future”

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Walter Naegle of New York City, surviving partner of late Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin and consultant on the film RUSTIN, and Mandy Carter of Durham, NC, Black lesbian grassroots activist for 57 years, will be speaking at the 43rd annual convention of the National Association of Black and White Men Together ( https://www.nabwmt.org/na-conventions/ ), a gay anti-racism organization, being held July 2-6 at Hotel Andaluz in downtown Albuquerque, NM. Local leaders will also be prominent on the program: Zack Quintero, executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center; T. Michael Trimm, executive director of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico; and Marshall Martínez, executive director of Equality New Mexico.

Naegle and Carter, along with activists Ken Scott-Baron and Mack Scott- Baron from Long Beach, CA, will co-facilitate a workshop on July 4 titled, “Ancestors and Movements: 2024 and Beyond,” including current information on the national campaign to have a US Postage Stamp commemorating Rustin, who was the principal organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Naegle will also lead a presentation on July 6, “Bayard Rustin’s Legacy,” about the development and promotion of Rustin’s legacy over the last 35 years. Carter, who was a co-founder of Southerners On New Ground 31 years ago and the National Black Justice Coalition 21 years ago, will also share her wisdom and insights while participating in all the other workshop sessions.

Quintero, a strong ally to the LGBTQ community, will be the plenary speaker on “Culture, Community, Courage” at the Holiday Luncheon on July 4. Trimm will speak on “Do the Work for Liberation Now!” at the NABWMT Co-Chairs Luncheon on July 5, and Martínez’s plenary on “Building Relationships as Power Building” will be at the Closing Banquet on July 6. Quintero will also lead a personal tour of the National Hispanic Cultural Center campus on July 2. Other group outings will include the New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum on July 3 and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on July 6. Trimm will also facilitate a workshop on July 5, “Transgender Cultural Fluency: We’ve Always Been Here, We Always Will Be.”

Additional workshops will cover a variety of diverse subjects: “Voices from the Archives” with Camelia Caton-Garcia, Director of Collections at the Holocaust and Intolerance Museum; “Older Queer Men’s Health”; “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action”; and a panel of former Co-Chairs on the subject of “Membership and Chapter Development.” And something unique to NABWMT conventions: we will have separate BIPOC and White Caucuses, followed by a Combined Caucus.

Registration for the NABWMT’s 43rd annual convention, with its theme of “On the Shoulders of Our Ancestors, Forging Our Legacy for the Future,” is still open at https://www.nabwmt.org/na-conventions/ at $299 for July 2-6, including five meal functions, or just $100 Day Rate on July 3, 4, 5 or 6, including at least one meal function. The National Association of Black and White Men Together, which was founded in San Francisco in 1980, is a gay, multicultural, anti-racism organization committed to fostering supportive environments wherein racial and cultural barriers can be overcome and the goal of human equality realized. To these ends, we engage in educational, political, cultural, and social activities as a means of addressing the racism, sexism, homophobia, HIV/AIDS discrimination, and other inequities in our communities and in our lives.

CONTACT:
Tim Wilson 720-987-3072
tkwdco@icloud.com

Wendell Reid 240-305-2585
wgreid@yahoo.com

Featuring Live Performances, Parade and Bed Race, Champagne Brunch Bash, Free Community Outdoor Film Screening of The Birdcage, Comedy Show at Agua Caliente
Casino Cathedral City headlined by River Butcher, Bar Events and More

Cathedral City, CA February 14, 2024—As California’s first Pride event of the year, the 8^th annual Cathedral City LGBT Days presented by Agua Caliente Casinos again brings together numerous LGBTQ+ celebrities, artists, performers, media, community leaders, Coachella Valley residents and visitors for an unforgettable weekend of live entertainment, community engagement and fun activities from March 8^th-10^th, 2024.

Friday March 8^th features the official Pride flag raising and lighting of City Hall beginning at 5:55PM. Doors open at 6:00PM for a 6:30PM community film screening of Mike Nichols’ classic The Birdcage under the stars at the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater. In the film starring Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest and Calista Flockhart, a gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée’s right-wing moralistic parents. The Birdcage screening is free to the public; register for film tickets here. Bars throughout Cathedral City will host LGBT Days specials following the screening and all weekend.

Saturday’s festivities include a headline comedy show starring River Butcher taking place at the Agave Caliente Terraza, the outdoor entertainment pavilion at Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City. Los Angeles-based standup comic, actor, and writer Butcher’s first half-hour special “A Different Kind of Dude” debuted on Comedy Central’s YouTube channel and was called “a masterclass in culture war commentary” by Esquire.com. River recently wrote on the FX pilot “Belated,” previously wrote for “A League of Their Own,” and created/starred in/wrote the critically acclaimed and GLAAD award-nominated tv show “Take My Wife.” He’s also been on screen as non-binary standup comic Lindsay Brady on “Good Trouble,” Adam Conover’s sibling on “Adam Ruins Everything” or queer dinner guest Denim in the hit movie “Friendsgiving.”  Butcher’s done standup all over the globe and the screen and was named one of Vanity Fair’s “Ten Comics to Watch” at Montreal’s Just For Laughs/Juste Pour Rire in 2017, just 6 years after doing his first standup open mic. He’s just recorded his first one-hour special in Portland, set to be released on YouTube this year. Get tickets here.

The weekend concludes on Sunday March 10^th with the annual Bed Race and Parade of Beds in front of City Hall starting at 10:00AM, where thousands of well-wishers line up to cheer on teams running festively decorated beds down Avenue Lalo Guerrero, competing for prizes and local infamy; admission is free and open to the public. The Bed Race will be emceed by local talent and accompanied by live entertainment including the Madonna tribute act Blonde Ambition. After the Bed Race, Cathedral City LGBT Days will host a noon Champagne Sunday Brunch featuring top DJs, champagne, drink specials, exclusive vendors, and gourmet food trucks on hand for all attendees to close out the weekend in style.

“Cathedral City is always excited to celebrate our vibrant LGBTQ+ community with our annual weekend full of arts, culture, dynamic programming, and our popular Sunday Bed Race,” said Ryan Hunt, Communications & Events Manager for the City of Cathedral City. “Our community is valued and respected as a place that welcomes and embraces diversity, and LGBT Days is a shining example of this continued mission by our Communications & Events Department and city leadership.”

“Agua Caliente Casinos is proud to be the presenting sponsor of Cathedral City LGBT Days, a three-day event filled with entertainment, laughs, mingling, and of course, the infamous bed race,” shared Todd Berendji, Sr. Vice President and General Manager. “We’re excited to host the official Cathedral City LGBT Days comedy show on Saturday, featuring headline comedian River Butcher. We’ll also have a great Happy Hour in the Tequila Bar, leading up to the comedy show.”

Additional activities will be announced weekly, with information posted on official social media channels (@CathedralCityLGBTDays) and the official website. The event welcomes community participation and is currently accepting applications for the Bed Race and Parade, sponsors, vendors, volunteers and performing talent. Please apply here.

For the third year in a row, Cathedral City LGBT Days is produced by Soundskilz Productions, a national entertainment production agency headquartered in Temecula, CA.

About Agua Caliente Casinos

Agua Caliente Casinos are located in Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, and Cathedral City, CA. Agua Caliente Casinos has earned the Forbes Travel Guide Awards for its fifth consecutive year in 2024 for three of its property venues. Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage has been awarded two Forbes Four-Star ratings for The Steakhouse and The Hotel, with Sunstone Spa earning the Forbes Five-Star Award in 2024. Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage is also a AAA Four Diamond property and was ranked top 5 for “Best Casino Outside of Las Vegas” in Newsweek in 2023. The Sunstone Spa also ranked in the top spas in the U.S. and number three in California by Spas of America’s Top 100 Spas 2022; The Steakhouse is a consecutive winner of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence since 2007; and Agua Caliente is the only hotel in Greater Palm Springs to have achieved Forbes Four-Star status. The Spa at Séc-he in downtown Palm Springs opened in 2023 and won the Sustainable Spa Award by the Green Spa Network and the Best of the Best by Palm Springs Life along with being named the No. 1 Spa in America by Spas of America in 2023. Agua Caliente Casinos took the lead in two categories of Best Desert Sun Community’s Choice Awards, ranked Best Casino in Palm Springs and Best Hotel in Rancho Mirage.

Collectively, the three properties offer a 16-story, 340-room hotel with resort-style pools and cabanas, three entertainment venues, Pívat Cigar Lounge, a premier cigar lounge offering live table games and slot machines, 13 diverse dining options, a multi-award-winning, full-service luxury spa and salon, meeting and event venues, and Agua Caliente Fuel, an expansive fuel station with 750 square feet of gaming machines, a drive-through coffee shop Java Caliente, and competitive gas prices. Agua Caliente is also home to two nearby championship golf courses: Indian Canyons North and South.

For more information on Agua Caliente Casinos, visit www.aguacalientecasinos.com or join the conversation on Instagram @aguacalientecasinos.

Who We Are: Cathedral City

Cathedral City takes its name from Col. Henry Washington of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who in 1850 noted the area’s canyons resembled the interior of a grand cathedral. The name stuck; in 1925, developers named the area’s first subdivision Cathedral City, California. After living in the area for millennia, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians established their reservation in the Coachella Valley 1876, which comprises approximately 28% of Cathedral City.

Incorporated in 1981—later than its neighbors—Cathedral City is dedicated to providing a quality lifestyle and welcoming business climate. Cathedral City represents about ten percent of The Coachella Valley’s population and is a destination of friendly neighborhoods, lush country clubs, diverse shopping, and unlimited business potential.

Cathedral city is the fastest-growing among the desert cities, boasting higher growth in “snowbird” and full-time resident populations and economic indices than its neighbors—yet remains a great value. Many people across the nation know about Palm Springs, but more and more people are discovering that Cathedral City has become a great destination for the LGBT community to live, dine, stay and play!