President Joe Biden’s speech at the HRC National Dinner this weekend was the talk of the D.C. queer politico community after the forks and spoons were put away.
While honorees Shonda Rhimes, Lena Waithe, and Matt Bomer were celebrated too, Biden’s forceful condemnation of MAGA extremists’ attacks on the queer community was what resonated beyond polite applause.
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Biden used a few Republicans’ images in his video to show GOP extremism. She was one of them.
After being introduced by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, the president noted that it was his fourth time addressing the group, going back to when he was vice president.
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“I’ve been here every time you’ve invited me, because – careful, I’m like a poor relative,” he joked. “I show up when I’m invited.”
“At this pivotal moment in our history, Jill and I have come here tonight to say thank you for your courage, thank you for your hope, and thank you for your pride,” he continued. “Thank you for defending equal rights and dignity of all people, despite intense opposition and hate-fueled rhetoric, even violence, to try to keep you from moving.”
Noting that he’s been “labeled the most pro-equality president in history,” he added, “I’m proud of our record” on defending LGBTQ+ rights worldwide.
He listed off several of his key accomplishments throughout his presidency before noting that MAGA extremists and the Republican Party have been trying to set back the movement for equality.
“Nearly every day, I get letters, literally, from children and parents terrified by what they’re – what’s happening all across America. A 13-year-old transgender child wrote to me and said, ‘I hate looking at the news, not because I’m a teenager and it’s boring, but because it’s painful. I hear adults much older than me debate about my existence when they don’t even know me.’
“Our message to young people across America must be unequivocal: You’re loved, you’re heard, and you’re understood and you belong,” he said. “And we see who you are, made in the image of God, deserving dignity, respect, and support.”
“I received a letter from one mom who wrote me, quote, ‘I despair for families like mine who have already become refugees inside our nation.’ Refugees inside our nation? That’s how she feels, like a refugee inside our nation. This is the United States of America.”
“In the United States Congress, extreme MAGA Republicans are trying to undo virtually every bit of progress we’ve made,” he thundered. “They’re trying to wipe out federal funding to end the HIV epidemic, strip funding from community centers for seniors, reinstate the ban on transgender troops, ban the Department of Justice from enforcing civil rights laws, ban Pride flags from flying on public lands.”
“These are just the cruel attacks on the LGBTQ community,” he pointed out. “They’re attacks on the foundations of our democracy. You know, they take aim at our fundamental values and principles, like the right to free expression, the right to make your own healthcare decisions, the right to raise our own children.”
“I’m never going to stand by and watch families terrorized, doctors and nurses criminalized, or any child targeted who- for who they are.”
After noting the recent attack on Israel by Hamas and the wave of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ and Black people, the president wrapped it all up with words that sparked reflection and solidarity – and a flashback to the days of ACT-UP-style AIDS activism.
“Folks, we have to reject hate in every form. Because history has taught us again and again antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia – they’re all connected,” he said. “Hate toward one group, left unanswered, opens the door for more hate toward more groups, more often, readily.”
“But here’s what which history shows: The antidote to hate is love. The answer to twisted, dehumanizing ideologies is solidarity and standing up for everyone’s humanity.”
“This shouldn’t be about conservative or liberal, red or blue. This is about realizing the promise of the Declaration of Independence,” he noted, “a promise rooted in the sacred and the secular that all people are created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“We’ve never fully lived up to that promise, but we’ve never walked away from it like many want us to do. And all of you here tonight and all the advocates and allies across the country, I see the light that’s going to triumph over the darkness. I see hope that’s going to conquer fear. I see love that’s going to overcome hate in all its forms.”
“I see a great nation because we’re basically a good people. We just have to remember who we are. And we’re not the victim. And although we are good folks, we got to stand up and holler. We got to stand up and holler. You cannot be silent. Silence is complicity.”
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