"From her start as one of the first and youngest women to be a Wall Street trader to her career in Congress and at the State Department, Ellen Tauscher was a trailblazer”, said David Stacy, HRC Director of Government Affairs. “Throughout her life of public service she was a champion for LGBTQ equality. Her leadership on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and her early support for marriage equality made a huge difference for LGBTQ people. She was a champion of equality for all Americans and a sterling example of what it means to be an elected official who ensures no one gets left behind.”  

In 2009, then-Congresswoman Tauscher introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 to the House, a later version of which passed after she left office, repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the discriminatory law banning gay, lesbian, and bisexual people from the military.

In 2004, when President George W. Bush called for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, Tauscher responded: "It is clear to me that this is the civil rights issue of the 21st century, and it is unambiguous in my mind that the government cannot discriminate by gender the rights conferred by the state in marriage."

The Human Rights Campaign is proud to honor the life of Ellen Tauscher and grateful for her unwavering advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ people.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organizations working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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