Kirsten Gillibrand is the junior United States senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. Formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives from the generally conservative 20th congressional district, she was appointed to the Senate in 2009, representing a generally liberal state.

In the House, she was known as a conservative Democrat or centrist, serving at the will of a highly conservative electorate. She was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of conservative Democrats. In the Senate, she is known as one of the more liberal Senators, as she represents a heavily Democratic state. At the time of her appointment to the Senate, a Salon editorial said that her reputation in the House characterized her as "a hybrid politician who has remained conservative enough to keep her seat while appearing progressive enough to raise money downstate."

Domestic policy

Social issues

LGBT

While running for New York's 20th congressional district in 2006, Gillibrand said in an interview she favors legalizing civil unions across the country and leaving the issue of same-sex marriage up the states to decide. As senator, Gillibrand said in 2010 that she supported the legalization of same-sex marriage in the State of New York.

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy group, gave Gillibrand a score of 80 out of 100 for the 110th Congress (when Gillibrand was in the House),Congressional Scorecard, Measuring Support for Equality in the 110th Congress, Human Rights Campaign, p. 25. and perfect scores of 100 out of 100 for the 111th,Congressional Scorecard, Measuring Support for Equality in the 111th Congress, Human Rights Campaign, p. 9. 112th,Congressional Scorecard, Measuring Support for Equality in the 112th Congress, Human Rights Campaign, p. 9. and 113th Congresses (when Gillibrand was in the Senate).Congressional Scorecard, Measuring Support for Equality in the 113th Congress, Human Rights Campaign, p. 9.

While in the House of Representatives, she voted for both the Sexual Orientation Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) and Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007.

Following her appointment to the Senate, Gillibrand became the first New York Senator to support same-sex marriage. On the morning of her appointment to the Senate, she called the Empire State Pride Agenda to reiterate her full support for same-sex marriage. Gillibrand also supported the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.Empire State Pridge Agenda. Pride Agenda statement on Gov. Paterson’s selection of Kirsten Gillibrand as new U.S. Senator January 23, 2009 In April 2009, Gillibrand endorsed Governor Paterson's proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in New York.

In July 2009, Gillibrand announced she was considering introducing an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would impose an 18-month moratorium on the discharge of gays serving in the military.Bellini, J. (July 11, 2009), "Don't Ask Fight Hits Senate", The Daily Beast She decided against introducing the amendment, as she could not amass the 60 votes required to avoid a filibuster, but told The Daily Beast that she was able to secure the commitment of the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold hearings on "don't ask, don't tell" in the fall of 2009.Bellini, J. (July 27, 2009), "Finally, Action on Gay Soldiers", The Daily Beast However, the hearings were postponed"Levin: Hearings to examine ‘Don't ask, don't tell’ repeal likely next year", The Hill, November 21, 2009 and began on February 2, 2010. The repeal ultimately passed both Houses of Congress and was signed by President Obama on December 22, 2010. In 2010, the Human Rights Campaign gave her a 100% rating from the LGBT advocacy group.

On March 16, 2011, Gillibrand, along with Senators Dianne Feinstein and Patrick Leahy, introduced a bill to repeal DOMA.

In 2011, Gillibrand heavily lobbied undecided members of the New York State Senate to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in New York. The bill ultimately passed the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, and was signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, on June 24, 2011.

In May 2017, Gillibrand was one of 46 senators to introduce the Equality Act of 2017, described by Representative David Cicilline as ensuring "that every LGBT person can live their lives free from the fear of discrimination. Above all, it’s about honoring the values that have guided our nation since its founding. It’s critical that Congress pass the Equality Act into law."

In October 2018, Gillibrand was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging Pompeo to reverse the rolling back of a policy that granted visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats who had unions which were not recognized by their home countries, writing that too many places around the world have seen LGBTQ individuals "subjected to discrimination and unspeakable violence, and receive little or no protection from the law or local authorities" and that the US refusing to let LGBTQ diplomats bring their partners to the US would be equivalent of America upholding "the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world."

In June 2019, Gillibrand was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Pompeo requesting an explanation of a decision by the State Department to not issue an official statement that year commemorating Pride Month nor issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month. They also questioned why the LGBTQ special envoy position had remained vacant and asserted that "preventing the official flying of rainbow flags and limiting public messages celebrating Pride Month signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTQ rights as a foreign policy priority."

In December 2024, Gillibrand voted to strip treatment for gender dysphoria from children of military personnel on TRICARE as part of the National Defense Authorization act.

Abortion and contraception

Gillibrand supports abortion rights, stating on her Senate website, "I will always protect a woman's right to choose—no matter what." Gillibrand has voted in favor of federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, contraception, and supporting United Nations Population Fund programs. In 2010, she voted against Ben Nelson's proposed amendment to the Affordable Care Act which would have prohibited the government from allowing insurance plans that cover abortion in a national healthcare exchange. She expressed strong opposition to House Republicans' No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act in early 2011, stating, in her opinion, that the act "disregards women’s rights and restricts the ability of women to access affordable health care."

Agriculture In March 2019, Gillibrand was one of 38 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue warning that dairy farmers "have continued to face market instability and are struggling to survive the fourth year of sustained low prices" and urging his department to "strongly encourage these farmers to consider the Dairy Margin Coverage program."

In May 2019, Gillibrand and eight other Democratic senators sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Perdue where they criticized the USDA for purchasing pork from JBS USA and wrote that it was "counterproductive and contradictory" for large foreign companies to receive funding from "U.S. taxpayer dollars intended to help American farmers struggling with this administration's trade policy." The senators requested the department "ensure these commodity purchases are carried out in a manner that most benefits the American farmer’s bottom line—not the business interests of foreign corporations."

In June 2019, Gillibrand and Republican Lisa Murkowski announced the Summer Meals Act of 2019, legislation altering the Summer Food Service Program of the Agriculture Department to grant more children access to summer meals in addition to providing transportation for children in rural and hard-to-reach areas to aid their access of summer meals along with imposing flexibility to the program so children can have more than one meal.

In June 2019, Gillibrand and 18 other Democratic senators sent a letter to USDA Inspector General (IG) Phyllis K. Fong with the request that the IG investigate USDA instances of retaliation and political decision-making and asserted that not conducting an investigation would mean these "actions could be perceived as a part of this administration’s broader pattern of not only discounting the value of federal employees but suppressing, undermining, discounting, and wholesale ignoring scientific data produced by their own qualified scientists."

In 2019, Gillibrand proposed a bill that would have enabled the government to make inspections of Concentrated Animal Farming Operations (referred to by critics as "factory farms") implicated in the outbreak of foodborne illness.

Gun laws Gillibrand's position on gun rights has changed from being against strict gun control in the House to being more "flexible" on the issue since she joined the Senate. While in the House, she had received a 100% positive rating from the National Rifle Association of America, and sponsored an amendment to the 2008 Farm Bill that would have allowed expanded hunting on public lands. On the other hand, Gillibrand worked to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System Improvement Act.

Gillibrand's pro-gun rights positions received scrutiny after her appointment to the Senate and were the object of criticism by some of her fellow New York Democrats, particularly those in the New York City area."Will Gillibrand Shift on Guns?", Albany's TimesUnion, Jan. 27, 2009 Within days of her being named to the Senate, Gillibrand indicated that her pro-gun rights position was "flexible". By late 2010, the NRA had regraded Gillibrand to an F rating, citing her votes against NRA-backed bills.

In one of her first votes as a senator, Gillibrand voted to reject a measure that would have expanded gun rights in the District of Columbia. While Gillibrand's spokesman characterized the vote as consistent with her previous view that local governments have the right to determine gun restrictions, the Albany Times Union noted that her position was counter to her vote just five months earlier on an almost identical House bill. She co-authored the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2009 with Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, a longtime advocate of gun control. Gillibrand also opposed federal legislation that would have allowed American citizens to carry concealed firearms across state lines even if they were legally allowed to carry the weapons in their home states.

Gillibrand's support of gun rights has been characterized more specifically as support of hunters' rights. Despite her mother being an avid hunter, Gillibrand has never hunted before, though she has shot skeet.

In January 2016, Gillibrand was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Thad Cochran and Barbara Mikulski requesting that the Labor, Health and Education subcommittee hold a hearing on whether to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fund a study of gun violence and "the annual appropriations rider that some have interpreted as preventing it" with taxpayer dollars. The senators noted their support for taking steps "to fund gun-violence research, because only the United States government is in a position to establish an integrated public-health research agenda to understand the causes of gun violence and identify the most effective strategies for prevention."