Hillary for President

For LGBT voters, there is only one reasonable choice for President of the United States on Nov. 8, and that is Hillary Clinton. It is not only because the alternative is unthinkable; it is affirmatively because Hillary Clinton is a champion for human rights, including equal rights for LGBT people here in America and around the world.
Clinton strongly supports marriage equality and has vowed to appoint Supreme Court justices that will uphold the landmark 2015 Obergefell decision that granted marriage equality to same-sex couples nationwide.
Clinton strongly supports the Equality Act of 2015, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate that if passed would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and the jury system. This is especially important for LGBT people in Michigan since we have no such protections in our state's civil rights law, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1977.
Clinton has spoken out passionately and aggressively about the need to address the ongoing violence against the LGBT community. She correctly states that LGBT people are more likely than any other group to be the target of hate crimes, stressing that the horrific attack at Pulse in Orlando was as much a hate crime as it was a terrorist act. She understands that trans women of color are particularly at risk, and has vowed to work with the law enforcement community to thwart violence and to respect all people, including LGBT people.
Clinton has dedicated her entire life's work to fighting racism, sexism and xenophobia. She understands that Muslim Americans have contributed to our nation's tapestry of religious expression since even before the Revolutionary War. Including them in the fight against the perversion of Islam by radical jihadists is a smart policy, and it is the right and just way to treat these fellow Americans.
As a young woman, Clinton worked at the Children's Defense Fund. That experience is the underpinning of her life's mission to protect and uplift children, including girls. She has been a role model for girls and young women the world over, expressing their hopes and dreams of full equality wherever they live. Facing down intense pressure to "behave," Clinton bravely pronounced that Women's Rights Are Human Rights in a speech while the First Lady of the United States Sept. 5, 1995 at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. As First Lady she successfully fought a difficult, uphill battle for passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997 that extended health coverage to 8 million American children who otherwise had no access to healthcare.
Clinton strongly supports Obamacare, but understands that the legislation as passed is far from perfect. Costs are too high, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies charge too much, and there are still too many people who can't afford coverage, even with the subsidies. Clinton understands that the LGBT community continues to face the ravages of HIV/AIDS and access to affordable healthcare and life-saving drugs is literally a matter of life and death for us. She wants to improve the system of healthcare delivery and to include LGBT people in the process and solutions.
Clinton is an exciting and positive candidate for all LGBT Americans, which is why it is BTL's honor to strongly endorse her for President of the United States.
As if we needed any other reason, the Donald Trump/Mike Pence ticket is a virtual horror show for LGBT Americans. Trump wants to appoint Supreme Court justices that would overturn marriage equality and a woman's right to choose. He wants to repeal Obamacare in its entirety which would leave thousands of people with HIV/AIDS vulnerable to insurance cancellations due to previous condition clauses, cut millions from any insurance coverage including young people under the age of 26 who can remain on their parents' coverage now, and redefine healthcare in America as a privilege, not a basic human right.
Pence is a leader in the anti-LGBT radical right. As Indiana's governor he supported a bill legalizing LGBT discrimination. In Congress he opposed hate crimes legislation and the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He has stated that homosexuality would bring about "societal collapse."
It is unimaginable to us at BTL haw any LGBT person could support the Trump/Pence ticket. The choice is abundantly obvious to us. Trump/Pence would be a disaster. A Hillary Clinton presidency would benefit LGBT people and she will be a partner in the continuing advances we must make towards full equality in America.
Vote for Hillary Clinton for President.