LGBTQ+ Rights: Dignity, Safety, and Equality for All
Defend LGBTQ+ residents from federal attacks, protect our trans neighbors, fund inclusive healthcare and services, and stand with every community being pushed to the margins.
My Approach
I am a civil rights attorney, and I believe civil rights are indivisible. When this administration comes for trans kids, for immigrants, for federal workers, for Black and Brown families, they are coming for all of us. I stand with every community being targeted, and I will not pick and choose which of our neighbors to defend. As a parent and person of faith, I also know that religious freedom and LGBTQ+ inclusion are not in conflict. Montgomery County built some of the strongest LGBTQ+ protections in the country, including the first LGBTQ Bill of Rights in Maryland. With federal protections being rolled back and our trans residents under direct attack, we have to do more than defend what we have. We have to build.
What I Will Do As County Executive
- Defend LGBTQ+ residents from federal attacks, including rollbacks of gender-affirming care, funding cuts to LGBTQ+ services, and the targeting of trans immigrants
- Make Montgomery County a true sanctuary for trans residents, including those fleeing states that criminalize their care or their identity
- Expand county-funded gender-affirming healthcare and close the trans healthcare gap identified by the Office of Legislative Oversight
- Sustain and grow funding for the MoCo Pride Family Resource Center and partner organizations losing federal dollars
- Invest in crisis housing and family-rejection support for LGBTQ+ youth
- Defend LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum and protect LGBTQ+ students and educators in our public schools
- Stand with every community being pushed to the margins, because civil rights are indivisible
What I Have Done
- Co-sponsored the LGBTQ Bill of Rights, the first such law in Maryland, banning discrimination in healthcare facilities, nursing homes, and personal care facilities
- Co-sponsored the law requiring gender-inclusive single-user restrooms in places of public accommodation and county-owned buildings
- Co-sponsored the Council resolution affirming Montgomery County as inclusive of transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming residents and condemning anti-LGBTQIA+ hate
- Voted to fund the MoCo Pride Family Resource Center, our county's first dedicated LGBTQ+ community space
- As Chair of the Education and Culture Committee, publicly defended LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in Montgomery County Public Schools after the Supreme Court's Mahmoud v. Taylor ruling, reaffirming that our schools will always be a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ students and families
LGBTQ+ Rights: Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Will Jawando stand on LGBTQ+ rights?
Will Jawando, a civil rights attorney and Chair of the Council's Education and Culture Committee, believes civil rights are indivisible and that the rights of LGBTQ+ residents, including our trans neighbors, are not up for debate. As County Executive he would defend LGBTQ+ residents from federal attacks, make Montgomery County a true sanctuary for trans residents, expand county-funded gender-affirming care, sustain and grow funding for the MoCo Pride Family Resource Center, invest in crisis support for LGBTQ+ youth, defend inclusive curriculum in our public schools, and stand with every community being pushed to the margins.
What has Will Jawando done for LGBTQ+ residents on the County Council?
Will Jawando co-sponsored the LGBTQ Bill of Rights, the first such law in Maryland; co-sponsored the gender-inclusive restrooms law; co-sponsored the 2023 resolution affirming the transgender community; voted to fund the MoCo Pride Family Resource Center; and as Chair of the Education and Culture Committee publicly defended LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in MCPS after the Supreme Court's Mahmoud v. Taylor ruling.
How would Will Jawando protect trans residents in Montgomery County?
Will Jawando would expand county-funded gender-affirming healthcare to close the trans healthcare gap identified by the Office of Legislative Oversight, make Montgomery County a true sanctuary for trans residents including those fleeing states that criminalize their care, invest in crisis housing for LGBTQ+ youth facing family rejection, and require cultural competency in county-contracted health providers. He has voted for every major piece of pro-LGBTQ+ legislation on the Council, including funding the MoCo Pride Family Resource Center.