July 1, 2025 - Washington, D.C. – On Monday, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said they have introduced a bill to impose sanctions on foreign actors responsible for human rights violations against LGBTQI+ communities abroad. 

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

“For far too long, the LGBTQI+ community has faced bigotry, hate, and violence all across the globe,” Wyden said. “We can’t let oppressive regimes get away with jailing or murdering individuals simply because of who they love and how they identify. This bill sends a clear message to bad actors overseas: there is no place for violence and discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community.” 

“We are living in a time in which governments around the world continue to make dangerous threats against our LGBTQI+ family, friends, and neighbors,” said Merkley, author of the Equality Act. “Every person—regardless of who they are, whom they love, or where they live—has the right to be treated with decency and respect. We need legislation like the Global Respect Act to send a clear message to the world that the United States is committed to defending these critical human rights.” 

Specifically, the Global Respect Act would:  

• Require the Executive Branch to biannually send Congress a list of foreign persons responsible for, or complicit in, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment of an individual, prolonged detention of an individual without charges or trials, causing the disappearance of an individual by abduction and clandestine detention of an individual, and other flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty or the security of an individual. 
• Authorize the Administration to deny or revoke visas to individuals placed on the list. 
• Require the annual State Department Report on Human Rights to include a section on LGBTQI+ international human rights, as well as an annual report to Congress on the status of the law’s effectiveness.
• Require the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to designate a senior officer responsible for tracking violence, criminalization and restrictions on the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The legislation has been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, the Council for Global Equality, American Jewish World Service and Human Rights First. 

The bill is led by Senators Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Peter Welch, D-Vt., Brian Schatz, D-Hawai’i, Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.

The text of the bill is here.
Source: Senator Ron Wyden