Pelosi reflects on four decades of LGBTQ advocacy

For nearly four decades, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been one of the most influential LGBTQ rights advocates in American politics.

The former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives helped pass landmark LGBTQ legislation through Congress. This includes repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and approval of the Equality Act in multiple Houses of Congress. She also played a central role in Congressional efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and oppose restrictions targeting transgender Americans.

In an exclusive interview with the Washington Blade. Pelosi reflected on these accomplishments, the role grassroots activists played in achieving them, and the continued challenges facing the LGBTQ community during President Donald Trump’s second term.

When asked about her proudest LGBTQ accomplishments, Pelosi cited not specific bills, but the movements that made those victories possible, and the loud and determined grassroots believers who demanded a better America than the one they found themselves in.

“Everything we accomplished, from fighting HIV and AIDS to ending discrimination to passing hate crime legislation to ending ‘Tell Me Not,’ would never have happened without outside mobilization,” Pelosi said, thanking those who recognized the problem and dared to speak out to make solutions exist. “While our internal dynamics were important, we couldn’t do our best work without our communities. Every chance I get, I thank them for their patriotism because they make our democracy work.”

Pelosi explained that her initial LGBTQ advocacy work was directly shaped by the San Francisco area’s LGBTQ community and the HIV/AIDS epidemic that devastated the community in the 1980s.

The former Speaker recalled arriving in Parliament in 1987 and putting HIV/AIDS at the center of the agenda from the beginning.

“My first words on the House floor were that we’re here to fight HIV and AIDS,” Pelosi told the Blade. “People asked why I would make such a statement in the first place. For me, that response showed how much discrimination still exists and how much work remains to be done.”

She went on to explain that advocacy in San Francisco, where the once-vibrant LGBTQ community is dwindling by the day, has become a joint effort between community-led activists and government officials trying to manage and alleviate the crisis. It claimed more American lives than the Vietnam War.

“When we were trying to hold the Democratic convention in San Francisco, people were saying they couldn’t come because of HIV/AIDS,” she said. “What emerged from that moment was community-based advocacy, community-based care, prevention, and research. All of our successes came from the community itself.”

Pelosi returned multiple times during the interview to the four pillars of the effort to combat HIV/AIDS: community-based advocacy, community-based care, prevention, and research.

She argued that the pandemic, despite its horrific toll, ultimately helped many Americans better understand and accept LGBTQ people in a previously intolerant society.

“When families learned that their son or daughter was HIV positive and gay, walls began to crumble,” Pelosi said. “In many cases, love won out. I actually credit HIV/AIDS to some extent with the acceptance of marriage equality because people started looking at these issues through the lens of family.”

Pelosi also highlighted the passage of the federal hate crimes bill as one of her and the LGBTQ rights movement’s most decisive victories.

“Matthew Shepard’s mother came and spoke to members of Congress. (late former Massachusetts congressman) Barney Frank told his story. He had to convince people that leadership meant leading, not following,” Pelosi said. “This law was very important because it forced people to face the real consequences of hatred.”

He said he rejected pressure to remove transgender protections from the bill, despite promises from other lawmakers that the bill would be easier to pass if it protected only the groups lawmakers deemed the most vulnerable.

“People said to me, ‘If you take out transgender people, you’ll pass in a minute,'” Pelosi recalled. “I said, ‘You’re not going to pass in 100 years because you’re never going to exclude trans people.'” It passed, including trans protections. ”

The Blade also asked Pelosi about the stalled passage of the Equality Act. The law would add federal protections for LGBTQ people through amendments to the Equality Act. Civil Rights Act of 1964 It specifically prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. She acknowledged that political obstacles have persisted since the Equality Act was enacted in the 1970s, but expressed confidence that the Equality Act would eventually become law.

Her office is lined with bowls of Ghirardelli chocolates and prints depicting her district’s national parks, but a large photo hangs on the wall of Pelosi standing at the House podium with LGBTQ allies and the words “#EQUALITY ACT” written beneath it. This photo proves that Pelosi could have already passed the landmark bill in the House of Representatives, as long as the U.S. Senate agreed.

“We passed it many times in the House,” she said. “The Senate is more difficult because of the procedural hurdles, but we’re not going to stop. We’re going to keep going until the job is done.”

The longtime Democratic leader also credited civil rights icon John Lewis with helping expand support for the bill at a time when others were advocating for the growing LGBTQ rights movement. As one California Democratic Congressman put it: “Too soon, too soon, too soon.”

“Some people were concerned about including LGBTQ protections in the civil rights law,” Pelosi said. “John Lewis told us, ‘I can’t wait. We have to do it now.'” He was instrumental in moving that effort forward. ”

Ultimately, much of the conversation turned to the Trump-Vance administration’s policies affecting trans Americans.

Pelosi argued: Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” Imposing restrictions on transgender military service undermines national security, and efforts to limit gender-affirming health care for transgender children Executive Order “Protecting Children from Chemical Resection and Surgical Amputation” Ignore family needs.

“Reducing the ability of transgender people to serve in the military compromises our national security,” she said. “At the same time, families are being told that their children are not getting the care they need. That’s very concerning.”

She recounted hearing testimonies from conservative parents who changed their minds after their children came out as transgender. She said the change has changed hearts and minds even among those who were once seen wearing red MAGA hats.

“One mother said she was a Trump supporter until her child needed medical care and her state wouldn’t allow it,” Pelosi said. “She said she had to leave Texas to take care of her children. When you hear stories like that, people are reminded that this is a family, not a political talking point.”

Pelosi said efforts to limit medical access for transgender youth are discriminatory and morally wrong.

“Some of their actions in denying support to clinics that meet the needs of transgender children are sinful,” she says. “I am a religious person and believe that all children are children of God. We have a responsibility to meet their needs.”

Asked what she would say to those who oppose LGBTQ equality, Pelosi returned to a theme that surfaced throughout the interview: love.

“I’ve seen families completely change when these issues become personal,” she said. “Those who once opposed HIV/AIDS funding became advocates when a loved one was affected. Love has a way of changing hearts.”

Pelosi once again shifted attention from herself to the activists on how she wants history to remember her role in the movement.

“People were dying and communities were demanding action,” she said. “I want people to remember that the progress we’ve made has come through the active participation of LGBTQ people and their allies, and I was honored that they trusted me to carry that fight in Congress.”

Pelosi, who has announced that she will not seek re-election and plans to retire from the House in 2027, said the fight for equality is not over yet.

“Every major expansion of rights in this country has been a long struggle,” she said. “We’ve laid the groundwork, but there’s still more work to do. We need to pass the Equality Act.”

When asked about the changes in public understanding and the growth of the LGBTQ movement, she said respect is at the heart of it.

“This month, which is Pride Month, people will say to me, ‘It’s easy because you’re from San Francisco, San Francisco is so tolerant,'” Pelosi said. “And I say to them, ‘Tolerance to me is a condescending word.'” Tolerance is a nice word when written large, but when it comes to subject matter, it’s not about tolerance, it’s about respect. Because of that respect, it was almost inevitable that I would have nothing but enthusiasm for what I was doing. We not only respect, but take pride in our community. But that pride comes from the respect people have for everything, including the differences they see. ”