This activist just became the first out trans speaker at a major US party convention
Sarah McBride, a trans activist, became the first out trans peoples to speak at a major political party conference in America on Thursday when she addressed the Democratic National Convention.
McBride, who was introduced by first out gay person to be elected to Congress, Sean Patrick Maloney, spoke about coming out as trans, and how she thought it could hold her back.
She said: “At the time, I was scared. I worried that my dreams and my identity were mutually exclusive.”
The activist also made touching remarks about her late husband, Andy, who died from cancer. She said his situation made her campaigning more “urgent”.
“I met Andy, who was a transgender man, fighting for equality and we fell in love. And yet even in the face of his terminal illness … this 28-year-old … he never wavered in his commitment to our cause and his belief that this country can change. We married in 2014 and just four days after our wedding, he passed away.
“Knowing Andy left me profoundly changed. More than anything, his passing taught me that every day matters when it comes to building a world where every person can live their life to the fullest.”
Since then she has worked at the Human Rights Campaign and the White House, and although she noted a number of changes, she says “so much work remains”.
“Will we be a nation where there’s only one way to love, one way to look, one way to live? Or, will we be a nation where everyone has the freedom to live openly and equally; a nation that’s Stronger Together? That’s the question in this election.”
She also spoke in favour of Hillary Clinton, saying: “Hillary Clinton understands the urgency of our fight. She will work with us to pass the Equality Act, to combat violence against transgender women of colour, and to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic once and for all.”
Watch McBride’s address below:
McBride’s address follows President Barack Obama, who celebrated same-sex marriage in his last ever DNC speech as President of the United States.
Chelsea Clinton also laid into the Republican Party for adopting a platform supporting the practice of gay ‘cure’ therapy.
The mother of an Orlando victim spoke to give a moving speech at the DNC urging for gun control in her son’s name.
