CNN and the leftist group the Human Rights Campaign Foundation will host another marathon town hall with Democratic presidential candidates focusing on “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues.”
CNN made the announcement the day after a seven-hour climate change town hall and that the next one tied to National Coming Out Day:
HRC said the October 10 primetime event, airing live on the eve of National Coming Out Day, will feature the largest-ever audience for a Democratic presidential town hall devoted to LGBTQ issues. The candidates will take questions from the audience and CNN journalists on specific LGBTQ concerns as well as their plans to promote equality and civility.
“This town hall comes at a critical time in our fight to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in this nation,” Alphonso David, the president of HRC, said. “Today, in 30 states, LGBTQ people remain at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services because of who we are.”
“Thirty-five states have yet to ban the dangerous and debunked practice of ‘conversion therapy,’ which is harming our young people,” David said. “Hate crimes are rising, and more than 100 transgender people — most of whom are transgender women of color — have been killed in the United States in the last five years.”
David also trashed the Trump administration even though President Donald Trump named a gay ambassador to Germany and has called for the decriminalization of homosexuality around the world.
“Although the federal government should be protecting all residents, the Trump-Pence Administration is directly attacking our community by banning transgender troops from serving our country openly, undermining health care services for people living with HIV, and seeking to erase LGBTQ people from protections under law,” David said.
“Invitations to participate in the town hall will be extended to Democratic presidential hopefuls who meet the DNC’s qualifications for the October 2019 primary debates,” CNN reported, referring to the DNC requiring candidates to have at least 2 percent support in four qualifying polls and 130,000 unique donors, including 400 donors each from at least 20 states.
Those who have already responded that they will take part in the event are former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, and Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
“An HRC Foundation spokesperson said the audience will be comprised of invited guests, LGBTQ stakeholders and members of civic organizations,” CNN reported. “No public tickets will be available.”
HRC describes National Coming Out Day as “a way of celebrating the power of coming out and promoting a safe world for LGBTQ individuals to live truthfully and openly.”
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