Two openly gay journalists are among
the four moderators of CNN's upcoming presidential town hall on
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues.
The historic town hall, titled “Power
of our Pride,” is being hosted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
Foundation and will take place on October 10, the eve of the 31st
annual National Coming Out Day.
CNN on Wednesday announced that nine
candidates had confirmed their participation, including former Vice
President Joe Biden, businessman Tom Steyer, former Texas Rep. Beto
O'Rourke, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former U.S.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, and
Senators Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth
Warren.
CNN has devoted 4 1/2 hours to the
event.
“Two candidates will appear
back-to-back each hour throughout the event and take questions from
the audience and a CNN moderator,” CNN said.
Moderators include out journalists Don
Lemon and Anderson Cooper. Dana Bash and Chris Cuomo will also
participate.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and
businessman Andrew Yang each cited scheduling conflicts in declining
HRC's invitation to participate in the town hall, CNN reported.
The event will take place at The Novo
in Los Angeles.