Democratic presidential front-runner
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden, who is
contemplating his own White House run, over the weekend reaffirmed
their support for LGBT rights.
Biden headlined the Human Rights
Campaign's (HRC) 19th annual National Dinner in
Washington, D.C., while Clinton addressed the group earlier in the
day.
“Transgender people are valued, they
are loved, they are us,” Clinton told the crowd.
She pledged to work to reduce violence
against transgender people and called on the Pentagon to end its
policy banning transgender service in the armed forces.
“Having the world's strongest
military doesn't just mean having the best-trained forces or the
biggest arsenal,” she said. “It means, being a leader on issues
like this.”
(Related: Hillary
Clinton backs LGBT protections; warns GOP will try to undo marriage
equality.)
Biden also called for an end to the
ban, calling transgender rights “the civil rights issue of our
time.”
(Related: Joe
Biden: Americans have moved past homophobia.)
At its annual gala, HRC honored
Hollywood
actress Ellen Page and Apple
CEO Tim Cook.