Which nominee(s) running for President of the US this year are the most LGBT friendly? Who are the least? I'm not a very political person, so forgive my ignorance, but I was interested in this topic. Also, can you give examples of stances on particular issues or things they have said which indicate their views?
Too lazy and tired atm to look them up specifically, but it's likely a tie between the Green and Socialist Party candidates.
Bernie Sanders! 100% Bernie Sanders. He's been fighting for LGBT rights for his entire career. While the other politicians had to 'evolve' Bernie has been fighting for LGBT rights since his first day in office. He's never backed down, he's never flip-flopped and even back when it was career suicide to be pro-LGBT Sanders stood up for the rights of the community.
I agree with Simple Thoughts. Sanders has supported LGBT rights for a long time. He hasn't gotten on the bandwagon simply because it's popular in his party (like Hillary has) and none of the Republican candidates are particularly LGBT friendly (with Cruz being outright hostile).
Sanders by far if you're only looking at the 2 major political parties. The Green party, Socialist party, and Libertarian party have always been all around more lgbt friendly than the democrats though, so most candidates in those parties would qualify too.
Bernie Sanders by far Clinton just recently became more LGBT friendly. Some say it's only for votes but I like to believe she had a change of heart.
Of the five that are still running for president, I'd rank them as follows: 1) Bernie Sanders (Has been supporting LGBT well over 40 years, I think) 2) Hilary Clinton (She only just recently been pro LGBT since about 2013, but it's progress) 3) John Kaisch (He's quite moderate on LGBT issues) 4) Donald Trump (Meh...) 5) Ted Cruz (He is extremely anti-LGBT!!)
Trump. He didn't just say things, like the typical ''all talk no action'' politician but actually did something. Action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IrE6FMpai8 :roflmao:
I completely agree with this list. Of course, there are third party candidates that also have a pro-LGBT record, like Jill Stein. Bernie Sanders has the longest record of being pro-LGBT. He supported gay marriage in the 90's when the majority of people were against it. He voted against DOMA and DADT (something Hillary Clinton supported at the time). I'm not sure if I can say Clinton is being genuine with her stance on LGBT rights. I think she panders to voters a lot. But, I won't doubt that her policy is pro-LGBT for the most part. Whether or not she believes what she says doesn't negate the fact that she would support pro-LGBT legislation as president. John Kasich is quite moderate. He doesn't support same-sex marriage personally but he does believe it's a resolved issue and we should move on. He doesn't want to undo the same-sex marriage ruling. Funny thing though, his state, Ohio, is where Obergefell v. Hodges originated. His state was one of the states, along with Michigan and Kentucky, that argued same-sex marriage up until it went to the Supreme Court (where the states ultimately lost the case). He also says he would have vetoed the North Carolina bill, so that's good. Donald Trump is a weird case. Before his presidency, he said his view on LGBT issues is "evolving", and it's gotten to the point where he seemed to not really mind it. Although, I think that he really just doesn't care about the issue altogether. He's the candidate that panders to voters the most. He will say anything to get voters, so it's no surprise that he says he'll undo the gay marriage case. He has said before that he doesn't believe people should be fired for being gay, so I guess that puts him one step above Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz is the devil in disguise. A truly deceptive and exploitive person who (I'm scared to say) probably believes the anti-LGBT stances he states. He will sign for any anti-LGBT bill you put on his desk. I can't even wrap my head around the fact that there are LGBT people voting for Cruz to stop Trump. Doing that is like shooting yourself to remove a bullet.
People have said it above; among the 'official candidates' (the intra-binary political ones), Sanders is the most open about it. Hillary and Trump are both total populists with no backbone.
This is 2016. At this point you cannot be a mainstream Democrat without supporting LGBT rights. I give Bernie Sanders a ton of credit for being way ahead of the curve on this issue but the party has evolved so much on this issue over the last few years that most Democrat candidates have similarly supportive views.
I'm aware of this. I just think that because Clinton has changed her views on so many issues, that LGBT rights may be in that mix of fake beliefs. It doesn't matter in the longrun. She would support pro-LGBT legislation as president, so we would essentially get what we want.
Bernie. For me, I feel like we're tokens for Hilary...and I honestly don't know why someone would vote for Kaisch, Trump, or Cruz given their stance on things even outside the LGBTQ community.
Just remember if public opinion ( for whatever reason ) were to flip back to being against LGBT rights at any point during her presidency, Clinton would not hesitate to throw our rights in the trash can
Bernie sanders all the way! Some people have said Hilary is however judging by different videos she will say she's LGBT friendly and for their rights however changes her views when she goes to a non LGBT friendly city.
I actually doubt that even in this unlikely scenario this would happen. There is no way the Democratic Party would go that far back into draconian policies for any mainstream or progressive Democrat to go back against marriage equality. I get that Hillary gets a lot of flack for not supporting it earlier, but I actually legitimately think now she knows she couldn't turn back on that. I give Hillary flack for her stances changing as well, but I don't think this is entirely accurate now.