JACKSON – Today, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Mississippi released the following statement after Hillary Clinton was declared the winner in the Mississippi Democratic primary.
“Hillary Clinton continues to prove that she is the pro-equality champion we need in the White House, and tonight, the vast majority of fair-minded Mississippians agreed,” said HRC Mississippi State Director Rob Hill. “So much is at stake in November and we cannot afford to have any of the anti-equality candidates play political ping-pong with our Constitutional rights. HRC Mississippi is proud to stand with our members and supporters throughout the state to fight alongside Hillary Clinton, and ensure that she is the pro-equality champion elected in November.”
HRC endorsed Hillary Clinton in January, and its members and supporters have made thousands of GOTV calls in Mississippi that helped to ensure tonight’s win. Prior to that, HRC opened offices and sent staff to South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire and Iowa to organize members and supporters on behalf of Hillary Clinton. HRC Mississippi is part of an unprecedented organizational effort to register and mobilize the nation’s pro-equality majority, and elect pro-LGBT candidates up and down the ballot.
Secretary Clinton has made LGBT equality a pillar of her campaign and recently unveiled the most robust and ambitious LGBT plan any candidate for president has ever laid out. She has vowed to fight for the Equality Act — a bill that would finally offer explicit, clear, and permanent non-discrimination protections for LGBT people at the federal level — and her detailed LGBT policy platform specifically calls for dropping the ban on open transgender military service, outlawing dangerous “conversion therapy” for minors, ending the epidemic of transgender violence, and supporting HIV prevention and affordable treatment, among other proposals that would advance equality and support the LGBT community.
This year, the pro-equality vote is expected to be larger, stronger, and more energized than at any point in history. Exit polls show that in 2012 at least six million LGB Americans voted in an election decided by less than five million votes. Today, in key states like Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida, the population of LGBT adults is greater than the average margin of victory in the last three presidential elections.
In 2014, HRC launched Project One America, an initiative geared towards advancing social, institutional and legal equality in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. HRC Mississippi continues to work to advance equality for LGBT Arkansans who have no state level protections in housing, workplace, or public accommodations. Through HRC Mississippi, we are working toward a future of fairness every day—changing hearts, minds and laws toward achieving full equality.
Representative Bennie Thompson released the following statement:
“With the results of the Democratic primary tonight, it is clear that Mississippians trust Hillary Clinton to do what is right for our state. She has a demonstrated record of accomplishment and a vision that resonated with voters. Her push for improvements in education, health care, job creation and national security is a response to what’s on the hearts and minds of Mississippians. Her dedication to underserved communities and commitment to break down racial, social and economic barriers for Mississippi families are precisely why I stand with her, and she will serve our state and nation well as our next President.”
