California Gov. Gavin Newsom, already rumored to be a Democratic contender for president in 2028, has confirmed hes considering a run but said he wont make a decision until after the 2026 midterms. In an interview that aired over the weekend on CBS News Sunday Morning, he was asked if hes giving serious thought to seeking the presidency, and he replied, Yeah, Id be lying otherwise. He is in his second term as governor and cant run for that post again due to term limits. He has lately become known for trolling Donald Trump.Newsom has been mostly an LGBTQ+ ally, but he shocked the community by hosting the late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on his podcast and agreeing with Kirk that its somehow unfair to let transgender girls and women compete alongside cisgender ones in sports. Heres a detailed look at Newsom's LGBTQ+ rights record.An early marriage equality supporterIn 2004, when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco, he declared marriage equality in the city and county (the two entities are combined). In what was dubbed the Winter of Love, San Francisco issued more than 4,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples between February 12 and March 11. The marriages were halted by the California Supreme Court and later annulled, but the Winter of Love still sent a strong message. Some Democratic politicians, however, feared it fueled backlash, along with the beginning of marriage equality in Massachusetts, leading to the passage of anti-marriage equality ballot measures in several states in November 2004. Newsom was elected lieutenant governor of California in 2010, with Jerry Brown as governor, then ran successfully for governor in 2018. His first ad in the gubernatorial race highlighted the Winter of Love in San Francisco.Surviving a recall with LGBTQ+ supportNewsom survived a recall attempt in 2021. The recall effort was spurred mostly by housing costs, homelessness, immigration, and the COVID-19 pandemic, but Californians largely approved of his handling of these matters. Those campaigning to keep him in office included President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Assemblyman Evan Low, a gay man who now heads the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Those seeking to replace him included far-right talk show host Larry Elder and transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner, who is not greatly supportive of other trans people. When the votes were in with a resounding no on his recall, Newsom emphasized what Californians said yes to: We said yes to diversity. We said yes to inclusion. We said yes to pluralism. We said yes to all those things that we hold dear as Californians and, I would argue, as Americans. Economic justice, social justice, racial justice, environmental justice.Likening "don't say gay" to infamous Briggs InitiativeIn 2022, in accepting an award for innovative policies, Newman likened Floridas dont say gay law, which restricted instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools, to a failed 1978 California ballot measure, the Briggs Initiative, which would have prevented queer people from teaching in the Golden States schools. Teachers were under assault because God forbid, teachers were homosexual, Newsom said when accepting 2022 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation from the Education Commission of the States.Making California a refuge for gender-affirming careAs Republican-led states around the nation started banning gender-affirming care for trans youth, Newsom signed a bill into law in 2022 that made California a sanctuary state for those coming in to seek care. Senate Bill 107 prohibited the release of information on a young person's gender-affirming care in response to a criminal or civil action based on another state's law that authorizes such actions. It also barred law enforcement agencies from knowingly arresting or extraditing someone based on another state's law against providing, receiving, or allowing a child to receive gender-affirming care. It further banned the enforcement of a court order "based on another state's law authorizing a child to be removed from their parent or guardian" for allowing the child to receive such care, as the bill stated.Sparring over Harvey MilkIn the summer of 2023, Newsom threatened the Temecula Valley Unified School District in Southern California with a $1.5 million fine if it did not adopt a state-approved social studies curriculum it had rejected because it mentioned groundbreaking gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. A Temecula school board member had called Milk a pedophile, which is not true. Milk is not mentioned in the textbook for the curriculum, but he is featured in supplemental materials. Newsom had promised that the state would buy the curricular materials for Temecula students if the district wouldnt. The school board finally agreed to buy them, although members said they would review and perhaps revise the references to Milk. Despite the review, Newsom expressed relief that students will have new textbooks but pointed out that the California Department of Education was still investigating Temecula Valley for possible civil rights violations.Related: Who was Harvey Milk?Signing pro-LGBTQ+ billsIn September 2023, Newsom signed nine pro-LGBTQ+ bills into law and vetoed one. The bills he signed addressed LGBTQ+ cultural competency training for public school teachers and staff, confidentiality for minors court petitions for a change of gender or sex identifier, evaluation of foster care homes to make sure LGBTQ+ young people are not placed in hostile environments, labeling single-user public restrooms all-gender, and more. The one he vetoed would have required courts, when making custody decisions, to consider whether a parent is supportive of a childs gender identity. Newsom had said this measure went too far in dictating court actions and could have led other-minded politicians in California and elsewhere to use this strategy to diminish the civil rights of vulnerable communities.Debating DeSantisIn November 2023, Newsom debated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was then seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, on the Fox News Channel in what was billed as The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate. DeSantis wants to roll back voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and womens rights, Newsom said early on. Im here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast. Ron DeSantis, his record, and the Republican Partys record as a point of contrast, thats as different as daylight and darkness. Newsom denounced Floridas efforts to keep books that focus on LGBTQ+ people or other minority groups out of public schools and told DeSantis, I dont like the way you demean LGBTQ people. He also invoked Republican icon Ronald Reagan, who spoke out against the Briggs Initiative in 1978.Protecting students against forced outingIn July 2024, Newsom signed the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Todays Youth (SAFETY) Act, which prohibits schools from disclosing a students sexual or gender identity or sexuality to their guardians without the students permission. He later signed a bill into law that protects teachers from being fired if they refuse to out trans students to their parents. Often [trans youth] cant confide with someone at home, Newsom said. They confide with a teacher. And a teacher may, in many ways, save their life. And I dont think that teacher should be fired if that teacher doesnt turn in that child.The Charlie Kirk interviewAfter his many LGBTQ-supportive actions, Newsom outraged the community when he featured right-wing firebrand Charlie Kirk on the first episode of his podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom, in March of this year and agreed with Kirk that trans girls and women shouldnt compete in sports alongside cisgender females. I think its an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness, its deeply unfair I revere sports. So the issue of fairness is completely legit. Newsom may have made the comments because trans rights appeared to be a losing issue for Democrats in the 2024 election. Backlash was swift, and Newsoms team tried to do damage control, but many LGBTQ+ people are not inclined to forgive him. He also drew criticism for featuring far-right activist and onetime Trump adviser Steve Bannon and virulently anti-LGBTQ+ commentator Michael Savage on later episodes of the podcast. Newsom later platformed anti-trans talking points on a podcast hosted by right-winger Shawn Ryan.Related: Why transgender people are not feeling Gavin NewsomWithdrawing funds for LGBTQ+ health programsNewsom came under further fire last summer when he withdrew $40 million in funding for LGBTQ+ and other health programs from Californias budget. Lets be clear: Balancing the state budget on the backs of vulnerable queer communities is a moral failure, said Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner. The legislature restored the funds, however, and Newsom agreed to the move.A mixed record on trans student athletesThe issue of trans student athletes came up again in the spring and summer of 2025, and Newsoms record was mixed. After Donald Trump condemned the inclusion of a trans girl in the states track and field championships and threatened the states funding, the California Interscholastic Federation announced a policy under which cisgender girls who narrowly missed qualifying allegedly due to the inclusion of a transgender competitor would be offered a chance to compete. The trans girl in question, AB Hernandez, did compete and won support from her fellow athletes as well as two gold medals and one silver. California sued the Trump administration over its demand that the state change its trans-inclusive sports policy, while the administration is suing California. Then in October, Newsom approved a study to explore the need for the state to improve access to sports for all groups regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, income, or geographic location.Signing and vetoing pro-LGBTQ+ billsAlso in October, Newsom signed several pro-LGBTQ+ bills into law and vetoed three. Those he signed strengthened confidentiality in health care, including for drugs used in gender-affirming care and abortion; sealed transgender and nonbinary adults gender transition court records, a privacy protection already available to minors; made paid family leave protections more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people; allowed out-of-state queer couples to access in-state channels when adopting California-born children; mandated that universities provide all students with LGBTQ-specific suicide hotline information; and made it easier to change one's legal name and gender on official documents. He vetoed bills requiring insurers to cover up to a years worth of prescribed hormones and to cover HIV prevention drugs without prior authorization. The third bill he vetoed would have required an inclusive view of gender in health education classes. He said the legislation should wait until a state study of health curricula was done.