RELEASE: Gottheimer, Craig Reintroduce Legislation to Combat Elder Abuse and Protect LGBTQ+ Seniors

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, June 6, 2025, U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Angie Craig (MN-2) reintroduced legislation to combat elder abuse and protect elderly members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Elder Pride Protection Act will create a Department of Justice task force focused on combating rising harassment and abuse against senior  LGBTQ+ Americans. 

“No one, especially our vulnerable seniors, should ever be mistreated because of who they are or who they love. That’s why I’m proud to reintroduce my Elder Pride Protection Act with Congresswoman Angie Craig to create a Department of Justice task force dedicated to targeting rising abuse against senior LGBTQ+ Americans,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), a member of the Equality Caucus. “I will always oppose any attempt by those in Washington or around the country to roll back the clock on progress. At the end of the day, equality shouldn’t be a Democrat or Republican issue. It’s an American issue.”

“LGBTQ+ seniors led the fight for so many of the rights LGBTQ+ Minnesotans enjoy today, and now it’s our turn to fight for them,” said Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02), Co-Chair of the Equality Caucus. “I’m proud to be reintroducing the Elder Pride Protection Act to help empower LGBTQ+ seniors in Minnesota and across the country, and protect them from any discrimination or abuse they might face as we continue the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights.”  

“SAGE is proud to support the Elder Pride Protection Act of 2025,” said SAGE’s Managing Director of Government Affairs & Policy Advocacy Aaron Tax. “These are challenging times, and now more than ever, LGBTQ+ elders deserve to age without fear of elder abuse. We applaud Rep. Gottheimer for introducing legislation that will create this important task force. Everyone deserves to live without fear of elder abuse, including LGBTQ+ older people.”

“The experience of being an LGBTQ elder can be isolating, and a frightening prospect for some of us approaching our golden years. We are all-too aware that for too long, abuse of our older LGBTQ adults has gone un- or under- reported, so we are grateful for this commitment made by Congressman Gottheimer and Congresswoman Craig in introducing The Elder Pride Protection Act. This Task Force will fill a critical need-bridging the gap between the lived experience of our LGBTQ Elders and uniform procedures at the State and Federal levels to fix the problems and ease the channels of communication. So many of us didn’t make it this far. In this chapter, we deserve safety. We deserve peace, and we hope our Representatives hear us,” said John Juska of Garden State Equality.

Gottheimer, a member of the Congressional Equality Caucus and the Task Force on LGBTQ+ Aging Issues, developed the idea for this legislation at his LGBTQ+ stakeholder roundtable. This commonsense, critical legislation responds to the nationwide trend of LGBTQ+ elder harassment and abuse. According to SAGE, LGBTQ+ seniors are far more likely than their heterosexual peers to have faced discrimination, social stigma, prejudice, and therefore, poorer economic and health outcomes.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Suzan DelBene (WA-1), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Hank Johnson (GA-4), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (FL-25), and Andre Carson (IN-7), Greg Landsman (OH-1), Laura Friedman (CA-30), and Darren Soto (FL-9). 

The text of the Elder Pride Protection Act can be found here.

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