Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT rights group in the U.S., has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House, saying she is the best choice to advance its message in November.
"All the progress we have made as a nation on LGBT equality - and all the progress we have yet to make - is at stake in November. In most states, LGBT people are still at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services simply because of who they are," HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement. "Today, 63 percent of LGBT Americans report having experienced such discrimination, and we are seeing other troubling trends, from the onslaught of state and local anti-LGBT measures to the national scourge of anti-transgender violence to backsliding on HIV/AIDS prevention and youth homelessness."
He continued, saying that GOP candidates "repeatedly threaten to block our progress, and to revoke, repeal, and overturn the gains we've made during President Obama's two terms."
"While they fight to take us backwards, Hillary Clinton is fighting to advance LGBT equality across our nation and throughout the world," Griffin added. "We are proud to endorse Hillary Clinton for president, and believe that she is the champion we can count on in November - and every day she occupies the Oval Office."
Clinton has come a long way since the last time she ran for office in 2008. At the time, she opposed the concept of gay marriage but supported the idea of civil unions. She later changed her view in 2013, saying she openly supported same-sex marriage, and then again in 2015 when she said it was a constitutional right, according to CNN.
This change in stance led to a testy exchange with NPR's Terry Gross, who questioned Clinton about her new viewpoint. In response, Clinton said change was inevitable and that "we have all evolved."
Nonetheless, given her involvement with the group since 2013 when she openly expressed support for gay marriage, saying homosexuals are "full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship," the endorsement is a victory for Clinton which guarantees her support from a key portion of the Democratic demographic.
Clinton is slated to accept the nomination next Sunday, Jan. 24, at an event in Des Moines, Iowa, with Griffin and the organization's members and supporters.
