Biden LGBT Envoy Befuddled Before House Committee

By Alexis I. Fragosa, Esq. | March 24, 2022

U.S. LGBTQI+ Special Envoy Jessica Stern

WASHINGTON, D.C. March 25 (C-Fam) U.S. LGBT Special Envoy Jessica Stern told the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee that while her office of “Special Envoy” for homosexual/trans issues at the U.S. State Department is important she could not cite a single achievement since she took office last June.

Stern told the Committee about a forthcoming report, which she said would provide details on the “compendium of interventions in all foreign assistance programs.” However, when Committee members asked for details, Stern could not identify the specific activities of her office.

Stern agreed with Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) that diplomats who identified as homosexual/trans struggled to obtain diplomatic accreditation from other countries for themselves and their families. However, she couldn’t cite a single instance of this happening.  In fact, when Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) asked if she could confirm the existence of at least one case where a diplomat was denied credentials, Stern said she would have to “get back to” him.

Stern was also unable to respond to Rep. Mast’s question about how the Department of State made efforts to hire and retain persons who identify as homosexual/trans when it is prohibited by law from asking about the sexual preferences of candidates. Stern said, “people can choose to disclose, but it’s not mandated.”

Stern’s appointment is part of Biden’s whole-of-government strategy to advance the homosexual/trans agenda abroad, which is outlined in his February 4, 2021 Presidential Memorandum.

“[To] repair our moral leadership, I’m also issuing a presidential memo to agencies to reinvigorate our leadership on the LGBTQI issues and do it internationally,” said President Biden when announcing this new LGBT policy. “You know, we’ll ensure diplomacy and foreign assistance are working to promote the rights of those individuals, including by combatting criminalization and protecting LGBTQ refugees and asylum-seekers.”

Following Biden’s memo to counter discrimination and violence against persons who identify as homosexual/trans, Stern advised that U.S. diplomats and agencies operating abroad will advance decriminalization of sodomy, legal gender recognition, and the end of talk therapy for those who want to leave the homosexual/trans world.

Stern told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. engages in both public and private diplomacy to achieve these controversial policies abroad.

The “diplomatic” efforts are outlined in the Presidential Memo that permits agencies engaged abroad to use “the full range of diplomatic and assistance tools and, as appropriate, [including] financial sanctions, visa restrictions, and other actions” to compel the cooperation of “foreign governments” that “restrict the rights of LGBTQI+ persons or fail to enforce legal protections in place, thereby contributing to a climate of intolerance.”

Stern also announced that the Global LGBTQI+ Inclusive Democracy and Empowerment (GLIDE) Fund recipient will be announced by the end of September.

Stern envisions the $2.5 million GLIDE Fund supporting projects that “respond to hate speech targeting LGBT persons during political campaigns,” and other similar projects.

Claiming the funds will help build stronger democratic institutions, she said “The GLIDE fund is not just good for LGBT persons. It is good for all people.”

Stern was the head of an anti-Christian organization called OutRight International that specializes in attacking pro-life and pro-family groups that work at the UN and domestically.

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