Gay lawmaker Brian Sims endorses Elizabeth Warren for president
"She has the most comprehensive plan for LGBTQ+ Americans that I’ve ever seen"
Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims has endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president, arguing that she more than any other candidate “values the power of all people to live and to contribute.”
Sims made the endorsement in an op-ed for The Advocate, published ahead of Super Tuesday, when 14 states and one territory will vote in the Democratic primaries.
In his endorsement, Sims criticized the Trump administration for working “extremely hard from day one” to attack “diverse Americans like my constituents, and most Philadelphians.”
“We’ve seen the funding for an accurate and inclusive census count gutted, trans service members, and LGBTQ Americans under attack from an administration that does not value all of its citizens,” Sims wrote.
Of Warren, he said he was endorsing a candidate who “values the power of all people to live and to contribute. Black, Brown, queer, trans, immigrant – Elizabeth Warren is fighting for all Americans and I plan to stand with her in that fight.”
Calling the Massachusetts senator the “antidote to the attacks on our values,” Sims touted a list of Warren’s proposed plans to fix a number of issues, including the epidemic of gun violence, police brutality, rising hate crimes, ,immigrant families being separated and deported by customs and immigration officials, and the epidemic of anti-trans violence.
“The time to nibble around the edges of policy is over – the stakes are too high,” Sims wrote.
In particular, Sims highlighted Warren’s “deep understanding of the issues facing so many of my constituents and the communities I represent.”
“She has the most comprehensive plan for LGBTQ+ Americans that I’ve ever seen, universal child care, a plan to deal with the student loan debt crushing a generation,” he wrote, adding, “across the board she’s proposed thoughtful, comprehensive solutions that could transform our country for the better and continue the fight to ensure our democracy works for all of us.”
He concluded: “She’s the fighter we need in the White House, and I am proud to endorse her for president of the United States.”
Warren has continually focused on LGBTQ equality and the need to tackle LGBTQ-specific problems while on the campaign trail, including rolling out an extensive plan to protect and further LGBTQ rights, repeatedly raising the epidemic of violence against trans Americans, and saying she would undo the anti-LGBTQ actions of the Trump administration as president.
Related: WATCH: Elizabeth Warren shares beautiful message of acceptance with LGBTQ teen
The Massachusetts senator currently trails rivals Sen. Bernie Sanders and a resurgent former Vice President Joe Biden in delegate totals.
Sims has gained a large online following for his outspoken activism as a lawmaker, including repeatedly standing up for LGBTQ rights.
In a feature interview with Metro Weekly last year, Sims said that his fellow Democrats would do well to embrace and stand firm on progressive principles.
“I don’t think we serve ourselves well as Democrats by watering down the best of our ideologies,” he said. “We should always be staunchly pro-choice. We should always be staunchly pro-equality. We should always recognize the power, the influence of immigrants. Those are things that I don’t think that we should ever be quiet on, that we should ever back off on. Frankly, the Democratic party is the only party that’s ever occupied the White House and balanced the budget. We should be loud and proud about those things.”
Related: Brian Sims has dedicated his life to achieving equality — and he won’t stop until it happens
Sims has also used his online platform to push a number of LGBTQ-specific issues, including calling out homophobia — something which last year saw him temporarily banned from Facebook after he shared abuse he’d received in which he was called a “faggot.”
He also revealed that he uses PrEP, which is more than 99% effective at reducing transmission of HIV, in an effort to reduce stigma surrounding the the drug.
Sims also shut down anyone who would shame others for taking PrEP, noting that stigmatizing others over their sexual health choices “literally kills us.”
“Think this is an invite to talk about my sex life? It’s not,” he wrote. “Think it’s an invite to shame me or anyone else? Grow up. ‘Stigma’ is the thing our enemies want us to be stunted by. It literally kills us. It’s stupid and we control our own fate. No shame in this game. Just Pride.”
Sims’ endorsement of Warren came after former Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the presidential race and announced he was endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden.
Buttigieg appeared at a Biden campaign event with Sen. Amy Klobuchar — who also dropped out and threw her support behind Biden — saying he was “delighted to endorse and support” him.
“When I ran for president, we made it clear that the whole idea was about rallying the country together to beat Donald Trump,” Buttigieg said. “And to win the era for the values that we share. And that always a goal that was much bigger than me becoming president.”
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