Biden stands up for LGBTQ equality in State of Union address

metroweekly.com:

low approval ratings — even among people who previously voted for him in 2020 — Biden attempted to use his speech as a reset for his presidency, decrying Russia and its power-hungry President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine while offering praise and support for the Ukrainian resistance, and seeking to clarify his (and by extension, his party’s) positions on various domestic issues by calling for programs and bills that would make Americans’ lives easier, fight inflation, get the country back to “normal” following a two-year interruption caused by the pandemic, and calling on states and cities to deal with rising crime rates by fully funding police using money appropriated by the American Rescue Plan.But as he went through the litany of various domestic concerns, Biden seemingly hit on many of the issues and promises he had run on as a candidate for president, even though much of his priorities have been killed in the U.S.

Senate, due to the inability to gain 60 votes to overcome the silent filibuster (exacerbated by the refusal of traditionalists to change Senate rules to either eliminate or reduce the 60-vote threshold, or require the minority to actively filibuster pieces of legislation, thereby calling attention to their opposition) as well as political posturing by conservative Democrats like Sens.

Joe Manchin (W.V.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.).Among those promises was a pledge to LGBTQ Americans, to pass legislation, known as the Equality Act, that would prohibit discrimination in various aspects of life, including employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, and access to government services.