Senator Edward Kennedy: A Record of Leadership on Gay Issues

• Long-standing co-sponsor of the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA), which would provide states the option of expanding Medicaid coverage to low-income people living with HIV.
• Co-sponsored the Ryan White CARE Act. Passed in 1990 and reauthorized in 2006, the CARE Act is the largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS.
• Co-sponsored a 1996 bill to reverse the discharge of HIV-positive members of the Armed Forces.
• Opposed a 1995 amendment to the CARE Act to cut off funding to local gay community health centers that provide care to individuals with HIV/AIDS.
• In 1994, took the lead defeating a proposed amendment requiring written parental consent before unemancipated minors could receive condoms or other contraceptives through any program that receives federal funds.
• Opposed a 1991 amendment to allow health care professionals to test patients for HIV without their consent before invasive medical procedures.
• Opposed a 1991 amendment providing for criminal penalties for health care providers who know they have HIV and perform invasive medical procedures without notifying patients.
• Opposed a 1990 amendment to criminalize blood donation by HIV-positive individuals.
• Opposed a 1990 amendment prohibiting needle exchange programs.
• Opposed a 1990 amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which would have allowed HIV-infected people to be removed from food-handling positions.
• Supported passage of a bill to modify the 1990 Budget Agreement to shift funds from defense to domestic spending, including HIV/AIDS research.
• Supported the Americans with Disabilities Act which bars discrimination on the basis of disability, including HIV status.

• Had been a co-sponsor of every piece of hate crimes legislation covering sexual orientation or gender identity considered by the Senate, including the 2009 Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
• Co-sponsored the 1990 Hate Crime Statistics Act, which requires the Department of Justice to acquire data on crimes that show evidence of prejudice based on a number of characteristics, including sexual orientation.
• Opposed an amendment to the Hate Crimes Statistics Act that would have stated that “the homosexual movement threatens the strength and survival of the American family” and “state sodomy laws should be enforced.”

• Long-standing co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the same manner as spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents.

• Co-sponsor of the Tax Equity for Domestic Partner and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, which would end the unequal taxation of benefits provided for domestic partners and other non-spouse beneficiaries under employers’ health plans.
• Opposed attempts in 1992 to restrict funding for the implementation of the District of Columbia’s Health Care Benefits Expansion Act. The Act provides District government employees the opportunity to purchase health coverage for their domestic partners.

• Supported repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” statute.
• Supported an amendment in 1993 to prevent codification of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.

• Supported marriage equality.
• Opposed the 2004 Federal Marriage Amendment and the 2006 Marriage Protection Amendment.
• Opposed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

• Had been the lead sponsor of each Employment Non-Discrimination Act introduced in the Senate.
• Voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act when it was considered by the Senate in 1996. 
• Co-sponsored a 2003 resolution adding sexual orientation to the nondiscrimination provisions of the Senate Rules (S. Res. 294).
• Voluntarily adopted a written policy for his Senate office in 1995 indicating that sexual orientation is not a factor in employment decisions, and added gender identity to that policy in 2004.
• Opposed a 1990 amendment to allow organizations that work with children in the District of Columbia to lawfully discriminate against individuals based on sexual orientation.

• Opposed a 1994 amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to prohibit any federal money from going to a school with “any program or activity, which directly or indirectly, has the purpose or effect of encouraging or supporting homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative.”
• Opposed a 1989 amendment which sought to restrict schools from using materials that “promote homosexuality” or state that homosexuality is “normal, natural, or healthy.”