Just days
before election contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton has won the endorsement of the Human Rights
Campaign.
The former
U.S. secretary of state and first lady and her Republican opponents are
featured in anew video
that was released along with the endorsement, which can be viewed below.
“I'm honored
to receive the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign—the nation’s largest
organization working to achieve full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender Americans," said Clinton in an emailed statement. "Thanks
to the Human Rights Campaign and millions of advocates across the country,
we’ve made tremendous progress. But our work is far from over.”
HRC announced
the endorsement in a statement on its website, saying it was unanimous among
its 32 community leaders. HRC said Clinton would formally accept the group’s
support from president Chad Griffin at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday.
Griffin made
the case for Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president in a statement:
“All the
progress we have made as a nation on LGBT equality -- and all the progress we
have yet to make -- is at stake in November. In most states, LGBT people are
still at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services simply because of who
they are. Today, 63 percent of LGBT Americans report having experienced
such discrimination, and we are seeing other troubling trends, from the
onslaught of state and local anti-LGBT measures to the national scourge of
anti-transgender violence to backsliding on HIV/AIDS prevention and youth
homelessness. Against this backdrop, we’ve heard the leading Republican
presidential candidates repeatedly threaten to block our progress, and to revoke,
repeal, and overturn the gains we’ve made during President Obama’s two terms.
“While they
fight to take us backwards, Hillary Clinton is fighting to advance LGBT
equality across our nation and throughout the world. We are proud to endorse
Hillary Clinton for president, and believe that she is the champion we can
count on in November -- and every day she occupies the Oval Office.”
In the email
from Clinton's campaign, the candidate laid out campaign promises of interest
to the LGBT community:
“As President,
I will continue to fight alongside the LGBT community to pass the Equality Act.
I’ll support efforts to allow transgender personnel to serve openly, and I’ll
end the dangerous practice of 'conversion therapy' on minors. I’ll expand
access to HIV prevention and treatment, and confront the epidemic of violence
facing the transgender community, especially transgender women of color. And
I’ll continue the efforts I led as Secretary of State to advance the human
rights of LGBT people around the world."
The statement
from HRC said the endorsement was based on answers provided by Clinton and her
Democratic opponents, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley,
to key issues “of concern to the community, demonstrated leadership on LGBT
issues, and viability.”
Not one
Republican candidate responded with answers to the questionnaire, according to
HRC.
Watch a video
from HRC on its endorsement of Hillary Clinton, below.
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