“Leader Hoyer has always been a fierce defender of our community, even long before LGBTQ+ allyship was a popular or widely accepted stance to take,” said Human Rights Campaign Incoming President Kelley Robinson. “From helping to pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and the repeal of the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ to his enduring advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities, HRC expresses sincere gratitude for the friendship that Leader Hoyer has offered to our movement towards greater inclusion and greater equality. We’re not done yet however, as the enactment of the Respect for Marriage Act before the end of his tenure as Majority Leader will further enshrine his legacy of achieving enhanced progress for all, far and wide.”

This year, the pro-equality U.S. House passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which is on the verge of passage in the Senate. The legislation will codify federal marriage equality by guaranteeing the federal rights, benefits and obligations of marriages in the federal code; repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); and affirm that public acts, records and proceedings should be recognized by all states.

In 2019, under his same leadership, the House passed the Equality Act, which would ensure that LGBTQ+ people can’t be evicted from their homes, kicked out of a public business, or denied government services simply because of who they are, for the first time in history — giving the bill a top 10 number indicating its high priority for both him and his caucus.

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.