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Human Rights Campaign
October 10, 2010

HRC To Host Nearly 100 Watch Parties from Coast to Coast for Historic LGBTQ “Power of Our Pride” Presidential Candidates Town Hall

 
WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announced that it will host over 80 watch and house parties across the country for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s historic Power of Our Pride town hall with Democratic presidential candidates. Broadcast exclusively live during prime time by CNN, the evening will constitute the largest-ever audience for a Democratic presidential town hall devoted to LGBTQ issues and will mark the first time in history that a major cable news network will air a presidential event devoted to issues of importance to the LGBTQ community.

Watch parties in select cities will be open to the media. Credentialed media interested in requesting access for these locations should email Elliott.Kozuch@hrc.org for further details. 

“Nearly 100 watch parties across the nation, millions of LGBTQ people and our allies will tune in to be part of history as the Democratic candidates for president participate in the most high-profile presidential event ever devoted to LGBTQ issues,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “The Power of Our Pride presidential candidate town hall will put front and center the issues most important to those who care about fairness and equality for the LGBTQ community. HRC and our grassroots army of three million members have been the tip of the spear against relentless attacks from the Trump-Pence administration, and we are eager to hear from this field of candidates about their vision for moving the country forward and advancing equality for all."

The Power of Our Pride town hall will take place tonight at The Novo in Los Angeles, California. The event is taking place on the eve of the 31st annual National Coming Out Day, a celebration of coming out as LGBTQ or as an ally. The first National Coming Out Day was held on October 11, 1988, on the first anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights as a way of celebrating the power of coming out and promoting a safe world for LGBTQ individuals to live truthfully and openly. 

CNN will air the event live during prime time, and it will be seen CNN and CNN en Español, across mobile devices via CNN's apps for iOS and Android, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV. For reference, CNN’s July Democratic Presidential Debate drew more than 10.7 million viewers.

Nine of the twelve qualifying candidates have confirmed their participation, including former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Secretary Julián Castro, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Amy Klobuchar, former Representative Beto O’Rourke, Businessman Tom Steyer and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Businessman Andrew Yang were invited but declined to attend. Senator Bernie Sanders was invited and planned to attend but withdrew for personal reasons. The event will be moderated by CNN’s Dana Bash, Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo, Nia-Malika Henderson and Don Lemon.

Over the last three years, the Trump-Pence administration has rescinded key protections for transgender students, appointed two new conservative justices to the Supreme Court, banned transgender troops from serving openly in the military, and has repeatedly sought to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in healthcare, housing, public accommodations and other aspects of life. Despite campaigning on a promise to be a “friend” to the LGBTQ community, President Trump designated Mike Pence as his vice president, and has refused to advance bipartisan federal civil rights legislation -- the Equality Act -- which overwhelmingly passed through the U.S. House of Representatives this spring.

The historic conversation about critical issues of equality at tonight’s Town Hall is as important as ever. Against the backdrop of the Administration’s rollbacks, the Human Rights Campaign and its 3 million members have fought to pass the Equality Act, end the epidemic of violence against LGBTQ people and specifically Black trans women through our Transgender Justice Initiative, end the so-called practice of “conversion therapy,”roll back the ban on transgender troops in the military, prevent the spread of HIV, advance equality around the world, protect LGBTQ youth -- and much more.  

These issues are of crucial importance to LGBTQ voters and allies. Today, there are an estimated minimum of 11 million LGBTQ voters nationwide -- along with millions of parents, siblings, friends, and allies -- who will play a decisive role in the 2020 election. Since 2016, HRC has identified more than 57 million “Equality Voters” nationwide who prioritize LGBTQ-inclusive policies, including marriage equality, equitable family law and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In 2018, LGBTQ voters cast ballots in higher numbers than the general population. LGBTQ voters cast more than 7 million ballots in all -- a turnout of roughly 70%, compared to a turnout of 50% among the general population -- and comprised 6% of the entire electorate.

The HRC Foundation last hosted presidential town halls in 2004 and 2008. In 2004, the HRC Foundation’s town hall included Sen. John Kerry, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, Gov. Howard Dean, Sen. Joe Lieberman, Rev. Al Sharpton and Sen. Richard Gephardt. And the 2008 town hall included then-Senator Hillary Clinton, then-Senator Barack Obama, Sen. Mike Gravel, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, former Sen. John Edwards and Gov. Bill Richardson.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rightsorganization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community. 
 

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Human Rights Campaign
October 9, 2019

RESOURCE GUIDE: Covering the Power of Our Pride Town Hall

As you begin to gather materials to cover the HRC Foundation/CNN Power of our Pride Town Hall, we wanted to make sure you had all the resources necessary to tell the story of LGBTQ people in the 2020 cycle. 

The Power of LGBTQ+Ally Voters

• We recently released both an Early State and Super Tuesday Voter Snapshot. The documents outline the power of the LGBTQ and ally vote across the country and give critical insight into how influential the LGBTQ vote will be this election cycle. 
  • Early State
  • Super Tuesday

 
The Attacks of the Trump-Pence Administration

• We’ve developed a handy guide that will allow you to identify some of the most aggressive attacks against LGBTQ people that the Trump-Pence administration has levied. 
  • Read more here

 
HRC Program Overview

• HRC has numerous reports on major issues facing the community. Below find a sample of some of our most recent reports and resources:
  • Supreme Court & Sex Discrimination
  • LGBTQ Youth Report
  • HIV and AIDS
  • Conversion Therapy
  • Trans Violence Report

 
Reporting Guides

• HRC has also compiled reporting guides with helpful tips to help you avoid critical mistakes when discussing transgender people, bi+ people and people living with HIV and AIDS:
  • Trans reporting guide
  • Bi+ reporting guide
  • HIV and AIDS reporting guide

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Human Rights Campaign
September 18, 2019

Human Rights Campaign Foundation & CNN Announce Additional Participants and Moderators in Historic LGBTQ Presidential Town Hall

LOS ANGELES -- Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation announced three additional participants in its historic town hall event, entitled Power of Our Pride, co-hosted with CNN. The evening will constitute the largest-ever audience for a Democratic presidential town hall devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) issues and will mark the first time in history that a major cable news network will air a presidential event devoted to issues of importance to the LGBTQ community. The Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation comprise the world’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, representing more than 3 million members and supporters.

Read more at CNN

Nine of the eleven qualifying candidates have now confirmed their participation (newly confirmed candidates are in bold): former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Secretary Julian Castro, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Amy Klobuchar, former Representative Beto O’Rourke, Businessman Tom Steyer and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Senator Bernie Sanders and Businessman Andrew Yang were invited but have not confirmed. 
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Dana Bash, and Chris Cuomo will moderate HRC and CNN’s historic presidential town hall on LGBTQ issues. Similar to previous town halls, two candidates will appear back-to-back each hour throughout the evening and take questions from the audience and a CNN moderator. The current line up is as follows:

7pm ET: Businessman Tom Steyer -- moderated by Dana Bash
7:30pm ET: Senator Cory Booker -- moderated by Dana Bash
8pm ET: Fmr. Vice President Joe Biden -- moderated by Anderson Cooper
8:30pm ET: Senator Kamala Harris -- moderated by Anderson Cooper
9pm ET: Senator Elizabeth Warren -- moderated by Chris Cuomo
9:30pm ET: Mayor Pete Buttigieg -- moderated by Chris Cuomo
10pm ET: Fmr. Rep. Beto O’Rourke  -- moderated by Don Lemon
10:30pm ET: Senator Amy Klobuchar -- moderated by Don Lemon
11pm ET: Fmr. Secretary Julián Castro -- moderated by Anderson Cooper 

“We’re pleased to see such strong interest among the candidates to participate in the historic Power of our Pride town hall and articulate their visions for LGBTQ people,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “For many of the 57 million Equality Voters across the country, the event will mark the first time they will hear from this Democratic presidential field about how they plan to achieve full federal equality for LGBTQ people, among other issues vital to the community.

Our community is at a crossroads and we must identify a leader who can defeat the anti-LGBTQTrump-Pence ticket and reverse their many attacks on LGBTQ people. Given the high number of candidates participating, this event is poised to help us do just that.”
HRC President Alphonso David added, “This town hall comes at a critical time in our fight to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people (LGBTQ) in this nation.

Today, in 30 states, LGBTQ people remain at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services because of who we are. Thirty-five states have yet to ban the dangerous and debunked practice of 'conversion therapy,' which is harming our young people.  Hate crimes are rising, and more than 100 transgender people — most of whom are transgender women of color — have been killed in the United States in the last five years.  Although the federal government should be protecting all residents, the Trump-Pence Administration is directly attacking our community by banning transgender troops from serving our country openly, undermining health care services for people living with HIV, and seeking to erase LGBTQ people from protections under law.”

Power of Our Pride will take place on Thursday, October 10 at The Novo Theater in Los Angeles, California. The event is set to take place on the eve of the 31st annual National Coming Out Day, a celebration of individuals publicly coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) or as allies. The first National Coming Out Day was held on October 11, 1988 on the first anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights as a way of celebrating the power of coming out and advocating for a safe world in which  LGBTQ individuals can live truthfully and openly. 

CNN will air the event exclusively live during prime time on CNN and CNN en Español, across mobile devices via CNN's apps for iOS and Android, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV. For reference, CNN’s July Democratic Presidential Debate drew more than 10.7 million viewers.

The live audience will be comprised of HRC members, supporters and community leaders. Tickets will be invitation-only; A limited number of print media credentials will be available, and those interested in covering the town hall may email press@hrc.org. 

Over the last two years, the Trump-Pence Administration has rescinded key protections for transgender students, appointed two new anti-LGBTQ justices to the Supreme Court, banned transgender troops from serving openly in the military, and has repeatedly sought to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in healthcare, housing, public accommodations and other aspects of life under the guise of “religious freedom.” Despite campaigning on a promise to be a “friend” to the LGBTQ community, President Trump designated Mike Pence as his vice president, and has refused to advance bipartisan federal civil rights legislation -- the Equality Act -- which overwhelmingly passed through the U.S. House of Representatives this spring.

These issues are of crucial importance to LGBTQ voters and allies. Today, there are an estimated minimum of 10 million LGBTQ voters nationwide -- along with millions of parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, and allies -- who will play a decisive role in the 2020 elections. Since 2016, HRC has identified more than 57 million “Equality Voters” nationwide who prioritize LGBTQ-inclusive policies, including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In 2018, LGBTQ voters cast ballots in higher numbers than the general population. LGBTQ voters cast more than 7 million ballots in all -- a turnout of roughly 70 percent of LGBTQ voters, compared to a turnout of 49 percent among the general population -- and comprised six percent of the entire electorate. 

In order to participate in the town hall, candidates must meet the fall DNC debate eligibility criteria: two percent or more support in four separate national or state polls and 130,000 unique donors with a minimum of 400 individual donors across 20 states. The last day for qualifying polls to be released or for qualifying donors to be counted will be September 25th. Candidates must submit their qualification criteria by 11am ET on September 26th.

The HRC Foundation last hosted presidential town halls in 2004 and 2008. In 2004, the HRC Foundation’s town hall included Sen. John Kerry; Rep. Dennis Kucinich; Sen. Carol Moseley Braun; Gov. Howard Dean; Sen. Joe Lieberman; Rev. Al Sharpton; and Sen. Richard Gephardt. And the 2008 town hall included then-Senator Hillary Clinton, then-Senator Barack Obama, Sen. Mike Gravel, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, former Sen. John Edwards and Gov. Bill Richardson.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

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Human Rights Campaign
By Lucas Acosta
September 4, 2019

HRC Announces CNN as Exclusive Broadcast Partner of Historic 2020 Presidential Candidates Town Hall

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Today, HRC Foundation announced CNN as the exclusive broadcast partner for the organization’s LGBTQ-focused town hall for Democratic presidential candidates this fall. The evening will constitute the largest-ever audience for a Democratic presidential town hall devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) issues and will mark the first time in history that a major cable news network will air a presidential event devoted to issues of importance to the LGBTQ community. The Human Rights Campaign is the world’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, representing more than 3 million members and supporters.

This historic town hall event, entitled Power of Our Pride, will take place on Thursday, October 10 at The Novo in Los Angeles, California. The event is set to take place on the eve of the 31st annual National Coming Out Day, a celebration of coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) or as an ally. The first National Coming Out Day was held on October 11, 1988 on the first anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights as a way of celebrating the power of coming out and promoting a safe world for LGBTQ individuals to live truthfully and openly.

CNN will air the event exclusively live during prime time on CNN and CNN en Español, across mobile devices via CNN's apps for iOS and Android, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV. For reference, CNN’s July Democratic Presidential Debate drew more than 10.7 million viewers.

The live audience will be comprised of HRC members, supporters and community leaders. Tickets will be invitation-only; A limited number of print media credentials will be available, and those interested in covering the town hall may email press@hrc.org.

Six candidates have confirmed their participation in this historic event: former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Secretary Julian Castro, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

“For nearly 40 years, the Human Rights Campaign has fought to realize a world in which LGBTQ people are safe, equal and free in every aspect of our lives,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “Today, at a time when our most basic civil rights and democratic values are under attack, our work has never been more urgent. We are eager to hear from this field of Democratic presidential candidates about how they plan to win full federal equality, defend the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people, and protect the most vulnerable among us -- both here in the United States and around the globe -- from stigma, institutional inequality, discrimination, and violence.”

HRC President Alphonso David added, “This town hall comes at a critical time in our fight to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people (LGBTQ) in this nation. Today, in 30 states, LGBTQ people remain at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services because of who we are. Thirty-five states have yet to ban  the dangerous and debunked practice of 'conversion therapy,' which is harming our young people.  Hate crimes are rising, and more than 100 transgender people — most of whom are transgender women of color — have been killed in the United States in the last five years.  Although the federal government should be protecting all residents, the Trump-Pence Administration is directly attacking our community by banning transgender troops from serving our country openly, undermining health care services for people living with HIV, and seeking to erase LGBTQ people from protections under law.”

Over the last two years, the Trump-Pence Administration has rescinded key protections for transgender students, appointed two new conservative justices to the Supreme Court, banned transgender troops from serving openly in the military, and has repeatedly sought to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in healthcare, housing, public accommodations and other aspects of life under the guise of “religious freedom.” Despite campaigning on a promise to be a “friend” to the LGBTQ community, President Trump designated Mike Pence as his vice president, and has refused to advance bipartisan federal civil rights legislation -- the Equality Act -- which overwhelmingly passed through the U.S. House of Representatives this spring.

These issues are of crucial importance to LGBTQ voters and allies. Today, there are an estimated minimum of 10 million LGBTQ voters nationwide -- along with millions of parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, and allies -- who will play a decisive role in the 2020 election. Since 2016, HRC has identified more than 57 million “Equality Voters” nationwide who prioritize LGBTQ-inclusive policies, including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In 2018, LGBTQ voters cast ballots in higher numbers than the general population. LGBTQ voters cast more than 7 million ballots in all -- a turnout of roughly 70 percent, compared to a turnout of 49 percent among the general population -- and comprised 6 percent of the entire electorate.

In order to participate in the town hall, candidates must meet the fall DNC debate eligibility criteria: 2 percent or more support in four separate national or state polls and 130,000 unique donors with a minimum of 400 individual donors across 20 states. The last day for qualifying polls to be released or for qualifying donors to be counted will be September 25th. Candidates must submit their qualification criteria by 11am on September 26th.

The HRC Foundation last hosted presidential town halls in 2004 and 2008. In 2004, the HRC Foundation’s town hall included Sen. John Kerry; Rep. Dennis Kucinich; Sen. Carol Moseley Braun; Gov. Howard Dean; Sen. Joe Lieberman; Rev. Al Sharpton; and Sen. Richard Gephardt. And the 2008 town hall included then-Senator Hillary Clinton, then-Senator Barack Obama, Sen. Mike Gravel, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, former Sen. John Edwards and Gov. Bill Richardson.