Where Does Gavin Newsome Stand on Queer Issues?

California's Governor Gavin Newsom has galloped to the forefront of political discussions this year. He was either dragged in, having to respond to the many egregious claims and acts on the part of the Trump administration in his state such as the politicalisation of the LA fires early in the year, to the presence of ICE and the National Guard troops dispatched to LA and other areas. Or he has triumphantly marched in, matching Trump meme for meme as he pushes back on social media against the president's personal attacks. It's no wonder that word is starting to spread of a possible Newsom run for the presidency in 2028. Newsome has a generally positive record with the LGBTQ+ community, though some recent statements, in particular regarding trans folks, have some questioning his complete support. A recent article by Trudy Ring in The Advocate highlights where Newsome stands on particular issues important to the community.

Newsome has hinted at a presidential run, but said he won't make a firm decision or announcement until after the 2026 midterms. In his second term as governor, he's unable to run again for that position due to term limits. When asked if he's considered it seriously, he said, “Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise.”

Newsome was a proponent of marriage equality years before it became national law. In 2004, as mayor of San Francisco, he signed marriage equality into law in the city and county, issuing over 4,000 marriage certificates during the "Winter of Love" from February to March. These would later be annulled by the CA Supreme Court, but the message was clear. This predated same-sex partnerships in MA. During his 2018 run for governor, this was one of the highlights in his campaign. Of course, marriage equality, established into law in 2015, is shakily now up for debate.

“We said yes to diversity. We said yes to inclusion. We said yes to pluralism. We said yes to all those things that we hold dear as Californians and, I would argue, as Americans. Economic justice, social justice, racial justice, environmental justice.” This was his response after a resounding "No" vote by California voters to recall him as governor. Led mostly by right-wing figures, he had overwhelming support in the queer community

In 2022, he compared the recent Florida "don't say gay" bill to the 1978 California Briggs Initiative, which would have barred members of the LGBTQ+ community from teaching in schools. “Teachers were under assault because God forbid, teachers were homosexual.” Such a public announcement of support is critical.

In 2022, Newsome signed into law State Bill 107, making California a sanctuary state for trans youth seeking gender affirming care. It prohibited the release of a young person's gender affirming care, it prohibited law enforcement from arresting or extraditing someone for allowing a child to receive care, and it banned the enforcement of a court order "authorizing a child to be removed from their parent or guardian" for allowing said child to receive care, all based on the laws and restrictions of other states.

In 2023, Newsome threatened to fine the Temecula Valley Unified School District $1.5 million if it did not purchase and implement state-approved social studies materials. The district's complaint was that it mentioned the work of gay activist and SF Board member Harvey Milk, which one school board member referred to as "a pedophile."

In 2023, he signed nine pro-LGBTQ+ bills into law and vetoed one. The bills signed "addressed LGBTQ+ cultural competency training for public school teachers and staff, confidentiality for minors’ court petitions for a change of gender or sex identifier, evaluation of foster care homes to make sure LGBTQ+ young people are not placed in hostile environments, labeling single-user public restrooms all-gender, and more." He vetoed a bill that would have required courts, when making custody decisions, to consider a parent's comfort level with a child's gender identity.

In 2024, during Fox News Channel's "Great Red vs. Bluie State Debate" between Newsom and Florida governor Ron DeSantis, Newsom made the following point: “DeSantis wants to roll back voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s rights. I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast. Ron DeSantis, his record, and the Republican Party’s record as a point of contrast, that’s as different as daylight and darkness.” Regarding Florida's "don't say gay" bill barring materials and discussions in public classrooms, he said of DeSantis, “I don’t like the way you demean LGBTQ people.”

In July 2024, Newsome signed the SAFETY Act, which bars school staff from disclosing a student's sexual or gender identity or sexuality to a guardian without their permission. He later signed an additional bill that protects a teacher or staff member from being fired for refusing to disclose such information. “Often [trans youth] can’t confide with someone at home. They confide with a teacher. And a teacher may, in many ways, save their life. And I don’t think that teacher should be fired if that teacher doesn’t turn in that child.”

So why are many in the community of mixed feelings about Newsom?

In March of this year, he hosted right-wing and Christian Nationalist speaker Charlie Kirk as the first guest on his new podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom. On that episode, he agreed with Kirk's assessment of trans people and sports, that trans girls and women should not be competing on women's teams and against cisgender females. “I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness, it’s deeply unfair … I revere sports. So the issue of fairness is completely legit.” He would also later bring on such right-wing, pro-MAGA luminaries as Steve Bannon and anti-LBGTQ+ commentator Michael Savage. Backlash has been swift and severe, and long-lasting.

He also drew fire for later withdrawing $40 million in funding for LGBTQ+ and other health care programs in order to balance the CA budget. These were subsequently replaced by the legislature, which Newsom approved of.

Then this past summer, he approved of a study to investigate the need for state-improved access to sports for all athletes  “regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, income, or geographic location.” The state is suing the Trump administration for its demands for CA to change its trans-inclusive policies.

And just recently, Newsom signed several pro-LGBTQ+ bills. "Those he signed strengthened confidentiality in health care, including for drugs used in gender-affirming care and abortion; sealed transgender and nonbinary adults’ gender transition court records, a privacy protection already available to minors; made paid family leave protections more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people; allowed out-of-state queer couples to access in-state channels when adopting California-born children; mandated that universities provide all students with LGBTQ-specific suicide hotline information; and made it easier to change one's legal name and gender on official documents." And yet he vetoed three bills "requiring insurers to cover up to a year’s worth of prescribed hormones and to cover HIV prevention drugs without prior authorization. The third bill he vetoed would have required an inclusive view of gender in health education classes. He said the legislation should wait until a state study of health curricula was done."

How you view Newsom's record when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues is very personal and will depend on how you view particular issues within the community. Will his overall support of our community translate and reach bigger policies if he runs in 2028? That's for the voter to decide. But I do know many who believe the following:

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