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June 8 (UPI) -- The Biden administration Thursday announced new actions to protect LGBTQ communities from attacks on their rights and safety. "Over a dozen states have enacted anti-LGBTQI+ laws that violate our most basic values and freedoms as Americans and are cruel and callous to our kids, our neighbors and those in our community," a White House statement said. "The Biden-Harris administration stands with the LGBTQI+ community and has their backs in the face of these attacks."
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The actions include a new safety partnership with the assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division, who will act as a liaison to address LGBTQ rights issues. LGBTQ refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning people and has been expanded to include intersex and asexual people among others.
These steps are being taken as the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ people in the United States over what it said were real and dangerous multiple threats that are resulting in violence.
The Department of Education will also appoint a new coordinator to deal with "the growing threat that book bans pose for the civil rights of students," according to the White House.
Citing federal threat monitoring, the White House said LGBTQ communities face a surge of violence tied to hate groups and extremists as some states have simultaneously passed laws restricting LGBTQ rights.
The Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services are launching an LGBTQ Community Safety Partnership. It will work with community organizations to provide critical safety resources.
It will include safety training and federal threat briefings to help the LGBTQ community prevent and respond to threats. The partnership will also seek to protect healthcare providers serving the community and support reporting of hate crimes.
HHS will issue a Behavioral Health Care Advisory on transgender and gender diverse youth for mental health providers and provide guidance to states and communities on using federal funding to support mental health services.
HHS will also use its Office of Civil Rights to propose regulations to protect LGBTQ kids and families from discrimination in human services programs.
On book banning, the White House said 2022 saw the highest number of book bans in 20 years.
"Book banning erodes our democracy, removes vital resources for student learning, and can contribute to the stigma and isolation that LGBTQI+ people and other communities face," the administration said in a statement.
The DOE will provide new trainings to schools nationwide on how book bans target specific communities and "create a hostile school environment may violate federal civil rights laws."
Also on Thursday, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which recently adopted a resolution opposing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, released a statement reiterating their support for the community.
"As cities commemorate Pride Month throughout June, I am proud to see mayors in every part of the country reaffirming their commitment to equality, especially in the face of attempts by state legislatures to reverse anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Americans," the organization's president, Hillary Schieve, said in a statement Thursday.
"American Mayors recognize that these basic human rights remain incredibly fragile for so many of our neighbors, friends, colleagues and loved ones. Now more than ever, it is critical for us to come together, to be fully engaged and to fight for the core values of dignity, safety, respect and fairness," Schieve, who also is mayor of Reno, Nev., said.
The USCM has a long history of supporting LGBTQ+ causes. The organization condemned homophobia in the 1980s and adopted a policy in support of marriage equality in 2009.
