President Trump would bring Kim Davis laws to all 50 states, LGBT rights chief warns
The head of the Human Rights Campaign has warned that a Republican administration under Donald Trump would bring in Kim Davis-style anti-LGBT laws.
Hillary Clinton, who has the endorsements of most leading LGBT groups in the US, has a broad manifesto of detailed LGBT rights policies. Donald Trump lists no specific pro-LGBT policies anywhere.
In recent months the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee has tacked heavily against LGBT rights – pledging to appoint justices to repeal equal marriage, coming out against federal anti-discrimination protections, and coming out in favour of anti-transgender laws after repeated flip-flopping.
Meanwhile he confirmed running mate would be Indiana Governor Mike Pence – who has signed a state law giving businesses the right to discriminate against gay people on the grounds of religion. Pence also proposed draining HIV prevention funding to fund ‘gay cure’ therapy.
HRC exec Chad Griffin spoke out at the Democratic National Convention last night.
He said: “Last month, our nation was rocked to its core by a senseless and hateful attack that claimed the lives of 49 LGBTQ people and allies at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
“They were brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. Above all, they were human beings.
“Yet while the nation mourned, Donald Trump strutted before the cameras, and exploited our national tragedy.
“He had the audacity to tell the American public he was the true champion for LGBTQ people in this race, and that our community would be better off with him in the White House. He even challenged his sceptics to, and I quote – ‘ask the gays’.
“Well, since he asked… here goes.
“While Donald Trump has threatened to strip away our rights, the Hillary Clinton I first got to know as a closeted kid growing up in Arkansas has always been willing to stand up for the voiceless, and she’s made fighting for equality a cornerstone of her campaign.
“While Donald Trump has promised to legalise Kim Davis-style discrimination in all 50 states… Hillary Clinton has promised to sign the Equality Act into law.
“While Donald Trump chose as his running mate a governor who tried to divert HIV funding in order to finance the abusive practice of ‘conversion therapy’… Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is committed to stopping the spread of HIV, banning conversion therapy for minors, and ending the hate and violence our community still faces.
“And long before Donald Trump struggled to read the letters ‘LGBTQ’ off a teleprompter last week, Hillary Clinton stood before the United Nations and boldly declared that gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights
He added: “I want to remind Donald Trump of one more thing. The LGBTQ community is as diverse as the fabric of our nation.
“We are Muslim. We are Jewish.
“We are women. We are black, white and Latino.
“We are immigrants and we are people with disabilities.
“And when you attack one of us, you are attacking all of us.
“And that, my friends, is why together, we are all with her.”
