Who is Wes Moore? Where does he stand on LGBTQ+ issues?

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) made history in 2022 by becoming his state’s first-ever Black governor. During his tenure, he has shown support for the LGBTQ+ community by speaking in defense of queer civil rights and approving legislation that protects those rights.

Wes Moore At a Glance

• Location: Annapolis, Maryland
• Party Affiliation: Democrat
• Race/Ethnicity: African-American
• Gender Identity: Male
• Sexual Orientation: Straight
• Pronouns: He/Him
• LGBTQ+ Ally: Yes

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• Website: wesmoore.com

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Biography

Moore was born to an African-American father and Cuban-Jamaican mother in Takoma Park, Maryland in October 1978. After his father’s death in April 1982, his mother moved him to the Bronx, New York, though they returned to Maryland in 2014.

He graduated from Valley Forge Military College with an Associate’s Degree in liberal arts in 1998, from Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies and economics in 2001, and from Oxford University with a Master of Letters in international relations in 2004.

In 2005, he served as a U.S. Army captain and paratrooper. In 2006, he served as a White House fellow working with then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and also married his wife, Dawn Chanté Flythe.

From 2007 to 2012, he worked as an investment banker with London’s Deutsche Bank and New York’s Citigroup. During this time, he also contributed articles to various U.S. newspapers and wrote his New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates.

In 2017, he was appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty nonprofit organization. In November 2022, he was elected as Maryland’s first-ever Black governor.

Moore’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues

Moore has repeatedly made statements in support of the LGBTQ+ community, especially against efforts to roll back anti-discrimination protections.

Same-sex marriage

Moore supports same-sex marriage. When lesbian former state Rep. Maggie McIntosh (D) posted a February 2022 tweet celebrating the 2012 legalization of same-sex marriage in Maryland, Moore responded, “Thank you for leading the charge to enshrine #loveislove into our laws. Thank you for always leading with love.”

Thank you for leading the charge to enshrine #loveislove into our laws.

Thank you for always leading with love @DelMaggie43. https://t.co/DXKaBApsdz

— Gov. Wes Moore (@iamwesmoore) February 17, 2022

Trans children in sports

Moore does not seem to have made any public statements about trans children in sports. Nonetheless, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, the organization that oversees sports in the state’s middle and high schools, allows trans students to play on sports teams matching their gender identity. In March 2022, Democratic state legislators helped defeat a bill that would have prohibited trans female athletes from playing on sports teams matching their gender identity.

Transgender access to public bathrooms

While Moore does not seem to have made any public statements about transgender access to public bathrooms, he has expressed general support for the state’s trans-related public accommodation laws that protect the rights of trans people to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities matching their gender identities.

“We must stay true to our commitment to build a state where we leave no one behind. We know that our diversity is our strength,” he wrote in a June 2023 tweet.

Don’t say gay/LGBTQ+ discussions in schools

During an October 2022 debate, Moore was asked if state public schools are doing a good enough job of educating all students about LGBTQ issues. Moore responded, “All I ever want for my children is for them to be seen and for them to feel like they are being heard and I want the same thing for every child.”

“I want to say to all of our LGBTQ youth and families: I see you and I hear you and all policies that will be made will be made in partnership because that is how we have to lead as a state, in partnership,” he added.

Even though Maryland has a 2022 law forbidding state-funded schools from instating anti-LGBTQ+ policies, Moore has spoken against laws in Florida and Arkansas that ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.

“When people say that these are no longer issues or Maryland is immune to this, it’s not true,” Moore said in March 2023. “There’s a reason that we fight.”

Transgender access to gender-affirming care

Moore signed the Trans Health Equity Act in March 2023. The act requires state Medicaid plans to cover gender-affirming care. Among the treatments covered are hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and surgeries, as well as voice training, fertility preservation, and permanent hair removal.

He also signed a June 2023 executive order protecting anyone seeking, receiving, or providing gender-affirming care in Maryland from attempts at legal punishment by other states.

Discrimination protections

Moore has made numerous statements affirming his support of anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people.

In September 2022, Moore said, “Our government should be working to increase freedoms for people, not take them away. It makes me sick when you have an adult who will use their power to bully, diminish, and dehumanize. And my message to… anyone who wants to take away rights and particularly rights to our LGBTQ+ community here in the state of Maryland, you’ll have to go through me first, because it is something that I will not tolerate nor condone. And we will make sure that we are leading from the front and aggressively.”

In May 2023, Moore refused to sign a law officially repealing the state’s anti-gay sodomy law, but he allowed the repeal to go into effect without his signature.

In June 2023, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling stating that anti-discrimination laws cannot compel writers to publish statements against their religious beliefs, Moore criticized the ruling, writing, “Nobody should have to justify their own humanity. We will continue working with our partners in the LGBTQIA+ community to ensure that in Maryland, everyone can be their truest self.”

My statement on today's Supreme Court ruling limiting LGBTQIA+ protections: pic.twitter.com/7xfpC2jo2g

— Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) July 1, 2023

Moore’s career

• Graduated from Valley Forge Military College with A.A. in 1998
• Graduated from Johns Hopkins University with B.A. in 2001
• Graduated from Oxford University with MLitt in 2004
• Served as a U.S. Army captain and paratrooper in 2005
• Served as White House fellow for then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2006
• Worked as an investment banker with London’s Deutsche Bank and New York’s Citigroup from 2007 to 2012
• Published bestselling book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates in 2010
• Appointed as CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation in 2017
• Elected as Maryland’s first-ever Black governor in 2022

In conclusion

Moore has repeatedly stood up for LGBTQ+ civil rights in schools, healthcare, and other public and civil settings.

Stay informed about his career by subscribing to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter.

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