Sarah McBride leads bipartisan coalition to secure 'freedom and dignity' for LGBTQ+ people globallyhttps://www.advocate.com/politics/sarah-mcbride-global-respect-act 🔗Christopher Wiggins (20 Nov 2025)
In a rare show of bipartisan unity amid intensifying global hostility toward LGBTQ+ people, Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, a Democrat, on Thursday reintroduced the Global Respect Act, human rights legislation designed to hold accountable the individuals who carry out torture, imprisonment, and violence against LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
McBride, the first out transgender member of Congress, unveiled the bill alongside Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican. Together, they secured 119 original cosponsors.
The bill empowers the U.S. government to identify and sanction foreign individuals responsible for human rights abuses targeting LGBTQ+ people, restrict their access to the United States, and publicly disclose their actions. It also strengthens State Department reporting on global LGBTQ+ conditions and mandates deeper coordination with civil society organizations that monitor persecution.
The legislation's text outlines a clear structure for biannual reporting, visa bans, and targeted sanctions directed at perpetrators of torture, arbitrary detention, beatings, disappearances, and other attacks.
"Freedom and dignity should never depend on your zip code or who holds power in your country," McBride said in a press release. "Yet nearly one-third of nations still criminalize LGBTQI+ people, and far too many look away from the violence that follows. The Global Respect Act reaffirms a simple truth: no one should be targeted for who they are or whom they love."
