Nevada Sen. Harry Reid will retire from the U.S. Senate after the completion of his current term. As leader of the Democratic Caucus since 2005, Reid has played a key role in ensuring legislation critical to the LGBT community passed the Senate, from new Hate Crimes protections, to ENDA, to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, to an updated Violence Against Women Act, the first federal sexual orientation and gender identity non-discrimination statute. On hearing the news HRC’s President Chad Griffin issued the following statement:
“In the dark days after the 2004 election, a Mormon boxer from Nevada became the LGBT community’s quiet champion in the Senate, and we will be forever grateful for his leadership. During Senator Reid’s term as majority leader, the Senate passed sweeping legislation that has fundamentally improved the lives of LGBT Americans and brought this nation closer to achieving its mission of liberty and justice for all. Without his courage and commitment to equality, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would still be on the books and LGBT people would lack key hate crimes and domestic violence protections. With two years left in his term, Senator Reid will continue to be a key ally as we fight for a new federal LGBT non-discrimination bill in this session of Congress.”
Sen. Reid received a 100 percent rating on the HRC Scorecard for the last four Congresses. The scorecard rates members of Congress on their positions on LGBT-related legislation.