Although gay and bisexual men in the United States remain disproportionately affected by HIV , accounting for two-thirds of all new HIV diagnoses in 2016 , Pence gave a speech for World AIDS Day 2018 without mentioning LGBT people . ( The previous year , Trump had given the World AIDS Day speech with the same omission . ) The Democratic Party started to support some LGBT rights in the 1990s . Despite signing the Defense of Marriage Act , Bill Clinton was the first president who openly supported LGBT rights ; he appointed several openly gay government officials during his administration . In the 2012 national platform , the Democratic Party supported the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and " equal responsibility , benefits , and protections " for same-sex couples ; President Barack Obama came out in support of same-sex marriage in 2012 . The Democratic Party explicitly supports same-sex marriage
2012 national platform
2012 Democratic National Convention
LGBT rights in the United States