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Joe Biden signs executive order: Representatives of the LGBTQ+ community were in the White House
Photo: SHAWN THEW/EPA
Before he was elected President, Joe Biden had promised to work for homosexuals and transgender people in the country.
However, in several conservative US states, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community are increasingly restricted.
The President now wants to take action.
As US media consistently report, Biden signed an executive order in the White House on Wednesday that is intended to secure measures to protect those affected.
He wanted to take action against the "hateful attacks" by Republican governors across the country against the LGBTQ+ community.
Biden called laws aimed at discriminating against families and children based on their sexual orientation or gender identity “un-American”.
The US President means, among other things, the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law in Florida.
The regulation came into effect a few weeks ago.
It prohibits students and teachers from talking about sexual orientation in general - the words gay, lesbian, bi, trans or queer may not be said in class.
There are about 300 of these discriminatory laws nationwide, the president said.
In Texas, for example, there are door knocks to harass parents raising transgender children.
"Micky Mouse is being hunted in Florida, goodness gracious," Biden continued, earning applause and laughter, according to the New York Times.
"We are in a battle for the soul of this nation"
Numerous representatives of the LGBTQ+ community were invited to the White House for the signing.
It falls during Pride month, when events and campaigns are held to fight for equality.
According to the New York Times, the motivation for the ordinance is also increased attacks on homosexuals and trans people in the country.
The paper relied on unnamed voices from the White House.
According to the newspaper, the regulation should serve as a basis for concrete measures to promote equality.
It also targets so-called conversion therapy — a treatment that doctors claim can change a person's sexual orientation or identity, such as "curing" homosexuality.
Biden called the treatment "inhuman."
In the future, there will be official warnings against such supposed “therapies”.
The authorities had been instructed to check whether the treatment could be prosecuted as a fraudulent act.
In addition, based on the regulation, more funds are to be made available to prevent suicides in the LGBTQ+ community and to expand psychological offers.
"We are in a battle for the soul of this nation," Biden said, according to the New York Times, and repeated the phrase.
"It's a fight I know we're going to win," he said to those in the room.
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