Democratic White House candidates will take part in a presidential town hall focusing entirely on LGBTQ issues on October 10 at The Novo in Los Angeles.
Hosted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the televised event will air live on CNN and CNN en Español, across mobile devices via CNN’s apps for iOS and Android.
Organizers expect to draw the largest-ever audience for an LGBTQ Democratic town hall. Plus, the event will be the first-ever LGBTQ presidential event aired by a major cable news network.
The historic town hall event, titled Power of Our Pride, is scheduled to take place the night before the 31st National Coming Out Day. Since 1988, NCOD has celebrated the power, and empowerment, of coming out.
The HRC says all candidates who qualify for the October round of Democratic primary debates will be allowed to participate.
The list of Democratic candidates (so far) who have confirmed their attendance include former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Secretary Julian Castro, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Expect to hear much from the candidates on the catastrophic effects the Trump/Pence administration has had on the LGBTQ community like banning transgender Americans from serving in the military, rolling back Obama-era nondiscrimination protections, prohibiting embassies from flying rainbow flags during Pride Month and more.
All of the current Democratic contenders have announced their support for The Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing civil rights laws.
`“For nearly 40 years, the Human Rights Campaign has fought to realize a world in which LGBTQ people are safe, equal and free in every aspect of our lives,” said HRC President Alphonso David said in a statement. “Today, at a time when our most basic civil rights and democratic values are under attack, our work has never been more urgent.”
“We are eager to hear from this field of Democratic presidential candidates about how they plan to win full federal equality, defend the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people, and protect the most vulnerable among us — both here in the United States and around the globe — from stigma, institutional inequality, discrimination, and violence,” he added.
For more information, click over to the HRC here.
In related news, GLAAD has partnered with One Iowa, The Gazette and The Advocate for an upcoming presidential candidate forum on LGBTQ issues to take place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on September 20. That event will be live-streamed through GLAAD’s social media and digital channels.
Confirmed participating candidates include Former Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, former Pennsylvania representative Joe Sestak, author Marianne Williamson and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ).
(source: HRC; image via CNN)
