BRUNSWICK, ME— U.S. Senator Angus King’s reelection campaign today is announcing that it has received the endorsements of two key LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations for his work to protect equal rights for all Maine people and families: EqualityMaine and the Human Rights Campaign.
“Equality is on the ballot in every race in this election, and our community stands ready to defend our rights and our families,” said John Hennessy, President of the EqualityMaine Foundation and the EqualityMaine PAC. “Senator Angus King has stood up for the LGBTQ+ community for over 30 years in Maine, going back to when he first served as Governor. His commitment and courage knew no bounds as he was in the trenches with our community during many referendum battles. His steadfast leadership and consistent support of the Maine traditions of fairness and equality in the US Senate have earned our endorsement in this important election.”
“Senator Angus King has been a trusted fighter for LGBTQ+ rights and for all the people of Maine during his time in the Senate, including as a co-sponsor of the Equality Act and by voting in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act. As an independent, he is able to reach across party lines to build consensus, and at the same time he has helped ensure that there has been a pro-equality majority in the Senate. We at the Human Rights Campaign are proud to endorse him in his bid for reelection and encourage Maine voters to turn out for Senator King in November,” said Cooper Reed, Associate Director, Regional Campaigns for Human Rights Campaign.
In response to the endorsements, King wrote:
“Our nation was founded on the promise of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,’ a basic proposition in which you are free to be yourself without unfair treatment, interference, or other discrimination no matter who you love, where you live, what skin color you have, or what religion you practice.
“As we move forward as a nation, let us recommit ourselves to protecting and supporting the LGBTQ+ community as we each individually choose how we want to live happy, healthy, and safe lives.”
Senator King has been a longstanding advocate for human rights and marriage equality. In 2021, he became an original cosponsor of the Equality Act to ban discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans. The legislation amends federal anti-discrimination laws to explicitly add sexual orientation and gender identity to be protected against discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, access to credit, federal funding, and more. It also adds protections against sex discrimination in parts of anti-discrimination laws where these protections had not been included previously, such as public accommodations and federal funding.
More recently, Senator King cosponsored and voted for the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act which expands federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages by requiring federal recognition of valid state marriages. The bill also guarantees that all marriages are given full legal status regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.
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