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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