Hillary Rodham Clinton was the speaker at my first real press conference. I was a young woman working in the press office at Randolph-Macon Woman's College, in Lynchburg, Virginia. I had just started working in communications, had no idea what I was doing, and was tasked with organizing a press conference for the First Lady of Arkansas. She was warm and accommodating to me - a young feminist responsible for the microphone, the podium and the glass of water on the side table.
That was the beginning of my journey toward a career in politics that I continue today. And, it is with great pride that as LPAC's first Executive Director, I am in a position now to announce LPAC's endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. Our goal is to elect the first woman president and we call on all lesbians and those who love us to join our campaign today at www.Lesbians4Hillary.com.
As part of our endorsement effort, I am excited also to launch Lesbians 4 Hillary, an LPAC effort co-chaired by sports icon and humanitarian Billie Jean King. Lesbians 4 Hillary is a community of LGBTQ women from all walks of life who are coming together to elect the first woman President of the United States. We are launching this effort because Hillary Clinton is the most qualified and experienced candidate in the race. She is also the candidate who will use that experience to fight on behalf of all Americans, particularly LGBTQ women.
Lesbians 4 Hillary is organizing LGBTQ women like never before to raise awareness, turn out our friends and allies to elect Hillary Clinton as our next President of the United States. For too long, women in general, and LGBTQ women in particular, have been marginalized in American politics. Lesbians 4 Hillary gives LGBTQ women of all ages and from all walks of life the opportunity to play a real and meaningful role in our political process. It is long past time for a community of LGBTQ women to join together to influence the outcome of an election when so much is at stake. It is 2016 and the LGBTQ community needs to assert that it is a force to be reckoned with and Hillary Clinton is our candidate and our champion.
The timing for this campaign, along with what promises to be an historic election, is serendipitous. So-called "religious freedom" bills that allow discrimination against the LGBTQ community and women continue to pass in state legislatures across the country. Women's rights are under attack, now more than ever, with Roe v. Wade a shadow of its former self. The next president will have the opportunity to nominate members of the Supreme Court who will either support or demolish what remains of Roe.
None of the current presidential candidates on the Republican ticket support LGBTQ equality or the freedom for same sex couples to marry. Hillary Clinton does. These same Republican candidates running for president are anti-choice and have sponsored, supported, or defended anti-choice laws that aim to ban abortion in this country. None of the candidates on the Republican side have championed pro-choice policies. Hillary Clinton has.
Electing a pro-woman, pro-LGBTQ president ensures that there is a leader in the White House who not only understands the obstacles we face but who will fight every day for equal pay, paid sick leave, the continuation of the Affordable Care Act, social and economic justice, and a host of other policies that positively impact LGBTQ women and their families.
Hillary Clinton is the best candidate in the race and the person who will best promote, defend and expand the rights of LGBTQ Americans when elected President of the United States. She is the candidate who best exemplifies what we, as LGBTQ women and LPAC, stand for: LGBTQ equality, women's equality, and racial, social and economic justice for all.
This fight is real and personal to us. It's time for a woman to be President of the United States - especially a woman who stands with LGBTQ women in support of equality at home, at work, and in all aspects of our daily lives. Join us today at www.Lesbians4Hillary.com and help us elect Hillary Clinton. The time is now for women and the person we choose is Hillary.