Biden announces new LGBTQ+ initiatives amid state rollbacks

• There has been an unprecedented wave of book bans at the state level, often targeting books written by or about members of the LGBTQ community.

The executive actions also aim to protect the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ individuals and support the mental health of youth, including those who are homeless or in foster care.

The big picture: The move comes as dozens of states roll out laws targeting specific communities and after the Human Rights Campaign this week declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people living in the U.S.

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is running for president, has signed several anti-LGBTQ bills into law, from limiting the use of preferred pronouns in public schools to criminalizing the use of bathrooms that don't align with a person's sex at birth.

What they're saying: "Let's not forget what we're seeing across the country from statehouses: more than 600 pieces of legislation, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing Wednesday. 

• "A few hundred of those are against transgender youth," she added. "And so we have not seen that type of 'anti' sentiment, anti — against this community in decades."
• "We also need to make sure that we let the community know that the President has their back and we're going to continue to fight for them," she said.