California is one of the most diverse states in the country, and our diversity is one of our strengths. Senator Barbara Boxer has been a champion of freedom, equality and justice for all Americans.
- Equality under the Law: Senator Boxer supported the Hate Crimes Prevention Act to expand the federal hate crimes law to cover sexual orientation. She has supported – and voted for – legislation to have the U.S. Department of Justice assist local law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of crimes motivated by prejudice based on sexual orientation and to provide grants to local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.
- Equality in the Workplace: Senator Boxer is a long-time cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which protects gays and lesbians from discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
- Equality in Marriage: Senator Boxer supports marriage equality and was an early opponent of Proposition 8. She was one of only 14 Senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. She has been vocal in her opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would enshrine discrimination against gays and lesbians into the federal Constitution.
- Equality in the Military: Senator Boxer believes that gay men and lesbians should be able to serve their country openly in the military. In 1993, she authored the amendment in the Senate that would have stopped "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" from being written into law, and she continues to support efforts to overturn this discriminatory policy.
- Equality in Benefits: Senator Boxer believes the federal government should treat the partners and spouses of all employees equally. She supports legislation to make all benefits, such as health and pension benefits, currently offered to the spouses of heterosexual federal employees available to the spouses and partners of all employees. In addition, she has cosponsored bipartisan legislation to allow domestic partners who receive employer-provided health benefits to be treated the same as spouses under federal tax law. She voted to allow the District of Columbia to fund programs to allow city employees to treat their domestic partners the same as married spouses. In December 2001, Senator Boxer urged the Department of Justice to rule that benefits for survivors of the September 11 terrorist attacks should not be limited to those who were legally married.
- Equality in Immigration Law: Senator Boxer supports allowing Americans and permanent legal residents to sponsor their foreign-born domestic partners for legal residency in the United States. This would treat domestic partners the same as married spouses under immigration law.
- Equality in Access to Public Facilities: In 2001, Senator Boxer offered an amendment to grant youth groups access to public school meeting facilities regardless of the group's views on sexual orientation. The Human Rights Campaign called the Boxer Amendment "a bold move to offset a previous anti-gay amendment offered by Sen. Jesse Helms."
- Equality in Healthcare: For nearly 30 years, the LGBT community has been hit particularly hard with the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS. From the early days of the crisis when she was a member of the House of Representatives, Senator Boxer has been committed to fighting for increased funding for prevention, education, research, and housing for people with HIV and AIDS.
- Senator Boxer is a long-time supporter of the Ryan White CARE Act that provides the largest federal investment in community-based HIV/AIDS health care services.. She has repeatedly supported the program's reauthorization and continues to press for the highest level of funding possible.
- As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Boxer has been one the leaders in the Senate in the effort to fund international HIV/AIDS relief. She has introduced legislation to dramatically increase funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development's HIV/AIDS program, and she continues to push for greater funding.
- When she was a member of the Senate Budget Committee in the 1990s, Senator Boxer supported efforts to double research funding at the National Institutes of Health, including funding for research into HIV/AIDS.
- She supported legislation to allow states to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income HIV-infected individuals, even if they did not otherwise qualify for the Medicaid program.
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