Stacey Abrams says LGBT people are ‘under attack’ in State of the Union response
Stacey Abrams speaks at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Alex Wong/Getty)
Democrat Stacey Abrams has said that LGBT+ people in America remain “under attack” in her response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
In his annual speech to Congress on Tuesday (February 5), Trump failed to once mention LGBT+ people, though he did pledge to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Delivering the official response on behalf of the Democratic Party, Abrams attacked the Trump administration’s record on equality issues.
Stacey Abrams: America has stumbled time and again on quest towards equality
Abrams, who was the party’s candidate in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election, said: “In this time of division and crisis, we must come together and stand for and with one another. America has stumbled time and again on its quest towards justice and equality.
“But with each generation, we have revisited our fundamental truths, and where we falter, we make amends.
“We fought Jim Crow with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.”
“We affirmed marriage equality, and yet the LGBTQ community remains under attack.”
— Stacey Abrams
Abrams added: “Yet we continue to confront racism from our past and in our present, which is why we must hold everyone from the highest offices to our own families accountable for racist words and deeds and call racism what it is, wrong.
“America achieved a measure of reproductive justice in Roe v. Wade, but we must never forget, it is immoral to allow politicians to harm women and families, to advance a political agenda.
“We affirmed marriage equality, and yet the LGBTQ community remains under attack.”
Trump administration slammed for ‘assault’ on LGBT+ community
The Trump administration has argued against LGBT+ discrimination protections across a string of court battles, and has also sought to enforce a definition of ‘biological sex’ that excludes recognition of transgender people.
Several Democratic lawmakers brought transgender troops with them to the ceremony, to protest the Trump administration’s policy of banning them from military service.
Lt. Col. Bryan Bree Fram, an active-duty U.S. Air Force rocket scientist of 16 years, said: “Trans service members lace up their boots every day, accomplish the mission and prove again and again that we belong.
“We’ve faced the same arguments used against the inclusion of every minority group and shown them to be as inaccurate now as ever.
“We’re focused on protecting the ideals of the constitution we swore to defend; we just wish we didn’t have to do it under the swirling maelstrom of uncertainty that we face today.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “The President’s call for ending HIV transmission in America is interesting, but if he is serious about ending the HIV/AIDS crisis, he must end his assault on health care and the dignity of the LGBTQ community.”
Democratic Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams talks to a crowd gathered for the “Souls to The Polls” march in downtown Atlanta on October 28, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jessica McGowan/Getty)
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin added: “For more than two years, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have made attacking LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities a top priority of their administration.
“From undermining protections for transgender youth, to threatening to deport Dreamers, to attempting to ban transgender service members from the military, to working to eviscerate health care coverage for those most vulnerable — this is a presidency rooted in prejudice and fear.
“But at every turn, we have put up roadblocks on this administration’s path of destruction and discrimination, uniting with our allies across movements.
“Now, with a pro-equality majority in the House of Representatives poised to pass the Equality Act and tackle other critical issues, we continue to demonstrate that when we stand together we are a force to be reckoned with.”
