Equality California is Nation's First Major LGBT Organization to Endorse Hillary Clinton for President in 2016

LOS ANGELES, March 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Equality California, the nation's second largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender membership organization, has endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. EQCA is the first major LGBT organization in the nation to endorse the former Secretary of State for President.  

"We want Hillary Clinton to run and are ready to mobilize our 800,000 members to help her win," said Equality California's Executive Director Rick Zbur. "We're enthusiastic about her candidacy because she has the best record of accomplishment on LGBT issues of any potential candidate. Equality California is ready for Hillary!"

As Secretary of State, Clinton championed the rights of LGBT people around the world, making LGBT rights and acceptance a global priority. In 2011, Sec. Clinton gave a historic speech on International Human Rights Day at the United Nations in Geneva, saying: "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights."

Under Sec. Clinton's leadership, the Department of State used its full range of diplomatic and development tools to combat violence and discrimination against LGBT people worldwide. Thanks to her efforts, LGBT rights became a core principle of U.S. foreign policy in an unprecedented way.

Throughout her career in public service, she has been a champion for LGBT equality and acceptance within the United States. In a video message, Sec. Clinton states "I believe America is at its best when we champion the freedom and dignity of every human being - that's who we are, it's in our DNA."

As a U.S. Senator, Sec. Clinton had an extremely strong record supporting equality issues. She was a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. As a Senator, she also was a vocal advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, voted against a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and voted to add sexual orientation to the definition of hate crimes.

"While serving as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton made her support for the LGBT community abundantly clear when she said 'gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.' Although she has yet to formally announce her candidacy, we unequivocally believe that she is not only the most qualified candidate, but also the best candidate to advance LGBT rights," Zbur said. "With this unequivocal support of her presidential bid, EQCA decided to take the unusual step to extend an early endorsement of Sec. Clinton to urge her to enter the presidential race. Along with our endorsement, we're gearing up to fully support her candidacy for president by activating our members to mobilize around her campaign."

In addition to announcing the group's endorsement of Sec. Clinton, Equality California will kick off a campaign focused on engaging its 800,000 members across the state and country to build a diverse coalition of support for Sec. Clinton.

Equality California is California's largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization focused on creating a fair and just society. Our mission is to achieve and maintain full and lasting equality, acceptance, and social justice for all people in our diverse LGBT communities, inside and outside of California. Our mission includes advancing the health and well-being of LGBT Californians through direct healthcare service advocacy and education. Through electoral, advocacy, education and mobilization programs, we strive to create a broad and diverse alliance of LGBT people, educators, government officials, communities of color and faith, labor, business, and social justice communities to achieve our goals. http://www.eqca.org/

SOURCE Equality California

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http://www.eqca.org