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The call will happen a day after thousands of LGBTQ+ leaders and supporters signed a letter of endorsement for the vice president’s candidacy.
Leading LGBTQ+ advocacy groups will host a nationwide Out for Harris LGBTQ+ Unity call on Thursday.
The virtual rally, co-hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, Equality California, the National LGBTQ Task Force, LGBTQ Victory Fund, LPAC, Advocate for Transgender Equality, and Alice B Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, aims to galvanize support for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign and highlight the critical importance of the November election, the groups said.
Related: Kamala Harris: Our One-on-One With the Vice President
The call will follow a powerful letter of endorsement released by HRC on Wednesday and signed by over 1,100 LGBTQ+ leaders, celebrities, and influencers.
The list of signatories reads like a who’s who of LGBTQ+ advocacy and entertainment: George Takei, Sophia Bush, Ashlyn Harris, Wilson Cruz, Brian Michael Smith, Colman Domingo, and Frankie Grande. They are joined by political heavyweights such as Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Reps. Ritchie Torres of New York, California’s Mark Takano, Vermont’s Becca Balint, Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride, and pioneering activists Jim Obergefell and Judy Shepard.
The letter is a clarion call for action. It highlights Harris’s storied career as a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ rights, beginning with her tenure as San Francisco district attorney, where she took a hard stand against hate crimes and officiated some of the first same-sex marriages in the country. Her refusal to defend Proposition 8 as California’s attorney general, co-sponsorship of the Equality Act in the U.S. Senate, and advocacy for non-discrimination protections as vice president paint a portrait of a relentless advocate for equality.
It also celebrates the Biden-Harris Administration for its historic strides, cementing its legacy as the most pro-LGBTQ+ administration in history. It highlights the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, protections for LGBTQ+ youth, and a record number of LGBTQ+ appointments to key government positions. The letter conveys that this progress instills a sense of pride and hope for the future among LGBTQ+ individuals and allies.
The stakes of the 2024 election are extraordinarily high, according to the advocates in the letter. “Our fundamental freedoms are under attack, and we must stop Donald Trump and his MAGA minions from wielding the levers of power to further erode and roll back all that’s been achieved for equality,” the letter states.
As the LGBTQ+ community continues to grow as a political force — now numbering nearly 20 million voters — their collective power could be a decisive factor in the upcoming election.
“The community is sending a message loud and clear: we are united in support of the experienced, tough, pro-equality Vice President Kamala Harris and will do everything it takes to defeat Donald Trump and JD Vance,” HRC's president Kelley Robinson said in a statement along with the letter. “The hope and energy we are feeling right now is real. We have the opportunity to vote for the future we want. A future with equality and freedom for all. For decades, Vice President Kamala Harris has dedicated her life to working toward this future for America.”
